SAXIFRAGACE^E. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 162. 



HEUCHERA. 



Calyx permanent, 5-cleft, with an imbricated aestivation. Pe- 

 tals undivided, somewhat unequal. Stamens 5. Styles 2, very 

 long, distinct, the length of the stamens, eventually diverging. 

 Capsule crowned by the withered flower, at the lower part united 

 to the calyx, 1-celled, dehiscing between the styles. 



572. H. americana Linn. sp. pi. 328. Elliott i. 337. Torreyjl. 

 i. 290. DC. prodr. iii. 51. — H. viscida Pursh i. 187. H. Cor- 

 tusa Michx. jl.bor. am.\.YJ\. H. reniformis and H. glauca 

 JRcif. med.fl. i. 244.? — Shady rocky situations in North America. 

 (Alum root.) 



Root perennial. Leaves all radical, on very long downy stalks, 

 roundish-cordate, hispidly pilose, about 7-lobed ; the lobes with dilated 

 mucronate teeth. Scape erect, naked, 2-3 feet long. Panicle thin, 

 at length divaricating. Calyx obovate, striated, with very blunt seg- 

 ments. Petals minute, spathulate, purple, inserted into the margin of 

 the calyx, between its segments. Filaments as long again as the petals, 

 inserted opposite the segments of the calyx, persistent. Capsule ovate. 

 Seeds minute, oblong, black, very hispid. — Root a powerful astringent. 



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