Heuchera pulchella (Sandia Mountain Alum-Root)

Family

SAXIFRAGACEAE

Scientific Name with Author

Heuchera pulchella Wooton & Standley

Synonyms

NONE

Common Name

Sandia Mountain Alum-Root

Agency Status
USFWS	State of NM	USFS	BLM	Navajo Nation	State Rank	Global Rank	R-E-D Code	NMRPTC Status	Strategy Status
		SEN			S2	G2	1-1-3	R	SS

Rare Plant Conservation Scorecard Summary
Overall Conservation Status	Documented Threats	Actions Needed
MODERATELY CONSERVED	Climate change/drought	Population trend monitoring. Status surveys on abundance, distribution and threats.

To download the Scorecard click here.

Counties

Description

Perennial, rhizomatous herb; stems greater than 15 cm tall, glandular pubescent, bearing leaves in basal clusters; leaves broadly oval to rotund, cordate, palmately lobed and broadly toothed, upper surface glabrous, lower surface glandular pubescent; inflorescence a scapose one-sided raceme, with 15+ flowers; hypanthium about 5.5 mm long, basal portion fuzed to ovary, upper free portion about 4.0 mm long, campanulate to urceolate, pubescent, pinkish-white; calyx 5-lobed, sepals pinkish-purple; petals lanceolate (sometimes filiform when dried), very narrow at the base, pinkish-white, longer than the calyx lobes; stamens 5, equal to or longer than the sepals; styles not much exserted; stigmas 2. Flowers July to September.

Similar Species

Heuchera rubescens (syn = H. versicolor) usually has a less dense inflorescence, more acutely pointed leaf lobes, shorter hypanthium, narrower petals, and more strongly exserted anthers and styles than H. pulchella. Other New Mexican species of Heuchera have either greenish-white flowers or much larger red flowers.

Distribution

New Mexico, Bernalillo, Sandoval, and Torrance counties, Sandia and Manzano mountains.

Habitat

Limestone cliffs in lower and upper montane coniferous forest; 2,450-3,260 m (8,000-10,700 ft).

Remarks

Locally abundant on the limestone face of Sandia Crest. The widespread H. rubescens is a variable species and the distinguishing features between it and H. pulchella are slight. This has caused confusion about the distribution of H. pulchella. Systematic studies of Heuchera are presently underway and will eventually clarify this issue. For now, it is best to consider H. pulchella to be restricted to the Sandia and Manzano mountains.

Conservation Considerations

The cliffside habitats of this plant offer considerable protection from human impacts.

Important Literature

*New Mexico Native Plants Protection Advisory Committee. 1984. A handbook of rare and endemic plants of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

*Ivey, R.D. 1998. Flowering plants of New Mexico, 3rd edition. Published by the author, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Rosendahl, C.O., F.K. Butters and O. Lakela. 1936. A monograph on the genus Heuchera. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

Wooton, E.O. and P.C. Standley. 1913. Descriptions of new plants preliminary to a report upon the flora of New Mexico. Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 16:109-196.

Information Compiled By

Robert Sivinski, Denis M. Kearns 1999

For distribution maps and more information, visit Natural Heritage New Mexico