Heuchera cylindrica Douglas ex Hook.
round-leaved alumroot (roundleaf alumroot)
Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Gordon Neish     (Photo ID #16038)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Heuchera cylindrica
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Species Information

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

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Heuchera cylindrica

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
 Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max
Elevation (metres)
 1155 247 2854
Slope Gradient (%)
 42 0 170

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

 207 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		2 0 6
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 1309
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

 AT(20), BG(118), BWBS(1), ESSF(208), ICH(199), IDF(462), IMA(4), MS(139), PP(119), SBPS(2), SBS(8)

Habitat and Range

Dry to mesic rocky places, cliffs and talus slopes from the lowland to alpine zones; common in S BC in and E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; E to SW AB and S to WY, ID, NV and OR.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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