196 SAXIFRAGACEAE. 



Leptaxis menziesii (Pursh) Raf. Sparsely hirsute throughout; stems 

 clustered, 40-60 cm. high, simple, erect, 3-5-leaved; basal leaves ovate, cor- 

 date, acute, obscurely 5-7-lobed, serrate-dentate, 5-15 cm. long, slender- 

 petioled; cauline leaves smaller, shorter-petioled; racemes 10-30 cm. long; 

 pedicels shorter than the flowers; calyx cylindric, dark purple, the lobes 

 unequal; petals filiform, twice as long as the calyx lobes; stamens exserted. 



Common in rich woods; the plant propagates itself vegetatively by means 

 of an adventitious bud formed at the tip of the petiole on many of the leaves. 



260. ELMERA. 



Low glandular-pubescent perennial herb with a thick scaly 

 rootstock and lateral leafy flowering branches; cauline leaves 

 with conspicuous membranous stipules; inflorescence racemose; 

 calyx-tube deeply campanulate, adnate to the lower half of the 

 ovary; sepals 5, ovate, erect; petals 5, spatulate, erect, 3-5-cleft 

 at the apex or entire; stamens 5, opposite the sepals; ovary 

 1-celled, many-ovuled, with 2 parietal placentae. 



Elmera racemosa (Wats.) Rydb. (Heuchera racemosa Wats.) Somewhat 

 pubescent and the inflorescence glandular; basal leaves reniform-cordate, 

 obscurely lobed, crenate, 2-4 cm. broad, long-petioled; stems 10-40 cm. high, 

 bearing 1-3 small leaves; flowers white; calyx 4 mm. long, campanulate, its 

 lobes ovate; petals spatulate, entire or somewhat incised, slightly longer than 

 the calyx-lobes. 



Rock cliffs or rock talus in the mountains at 1500-3000 m. altitude. Most 

 abundant in the Olympic Mountains. Known only from Washington. 



261. HEUCHERA. ALUM ROOT. 



Perennial herbs; leaves mostly basal, long-petioled, rounded, 

 mostly cordate; cauline, if any, alternate; petioles with dilated 

 margins or adherent stipules; flowers greenish or purple, in clusters 

 which form a long narrow panicle; calyx tube campanulate, 

 5-lobed, coherent with the lower half of the ovary; lobes some- 

 times unequal; petals 5, small, entire, sometimes minute or 

 wanting, or early deciduous; stamens 5; styles 2, slender; ovary 

 1-celled, with 2 parietal placentae; capsule 1-celled, more or less 

 2-beaked; seeds numerous. 



Stamens exserted; flowers in loose panicles. 



Leaf lobes triangular, acute; herbage glabrous. H. glabra. 



Leaf lobes rounded; herbage pubescent, at least the under 



leaf surface. H. micrantha. 



Stamens included; flowers in a spike or spike-like panicle. 



Pubescence villous or hirsute. H. chlorantha. 



Pubescence glandular. . //. ovalifolia. 



Heuchera glabra Willd. Glabrous; stems erect or curved, 30-60 cm. high, 

 bearing 1 -3 leaves; basal leaves cordate-orbicular, 5-7-lobed, doubly senate, 

 thin, shining above, 4-10 cm. broad, slender-petioled; cauline similar, short- 

 pet ioled; panicles loose; calyx turbinate, puberulent, the oblong obtuse lobes 

 as long as the tube; petals white, ovate, clawed, 2-3 mm. long. 



Rocky cliffs and slopes in the mountains, Alaska to Oregon. 



