General:
Perennial herb from short, thick rhizomes; stems erect, 15-90 cm tall, smooth to finely glandular-hairy or stiff-hairy below, glandular-hairy above, naked or with 1 to 3 brownish or greenish bracts.

Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped to nearly heart- or kidney-shaped, 1-6 cm wide, shorter or longer than wide, palmately-lobed, the lobes round-toothed, smooth or finely glandular-hairy to stiff-hairy; long-stalked, the stalks smooth to minutely glandular short-hairy or with conspicuous white hairs intermixed with short glandular hairs; stem leaves lacking; stipules membranous, fused to the leaf stalks.

Flowers:
Inflorescence spike-like, becoming open, 3-12 (20) cm long; petals white to greenish-yellow, 5, often absent or partly absent, linear, much shorter than calyx lobes; calyces greenish-yellow to cream-coloured, narrowly bell-shaped, joined to ovary almost to top, the free hypanthium slightly to strongly lop-sided, equal to or longer than part joined to ovary, lined with a thin to thick, somewhat glandular disk, calyx lobes 5, oblong-lanceolate to egg-shaped and overlapping, erect, longer than the hypanthium; stamens 5, opposite and shorter than calyx lobes.

Fruits:
Capsules, 6-10 mm long, opening along the beaks; seeds dark brown, 0.6-0.9 mm long, with lengthwise rows of slender, straight to curved spines.

Notes:
Four intergrading and largely sympatric varieties occur in BC .

1. Leaf stalks smooth to minutely glandular-short-hairy; plants mainly of SE BC.

2. Largest leaves 3.2-8.0 cm long, the teeth not or only slightly mucronate...................var. glabella (T.& G.) Wheelock

2. Largest leaves 2.2-4.8 cm long, the teeth usually strongly mucronate......................var. septentrionalis Rosend., Butters & Lakela

1. Leaf stalks generally with conspicuous white hairs intermixed with short glandular hairs; plants mainly of SC BC.

3. Largest leaves 3.0-8.5 cm long, the bases slightly to strongly heart-shaped ..........................var. cylindrica

3. Largest leaves 2.0-6.0 cm long, the bases squared-off or slightly heart-shaped..........................var. orbicularis (Rosend., Butters & Lakela) Calder & Savile

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Heuchera glabella Torr. & A. Gray