Wherry's Foamflower

Tiarella wherryi is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a short, slender rhizome. It has a leafless flowering stem and relatively large basal leaves, each with an extended terminal lobe. Most importantly, the species lacks the ability to produce stolons.

Identification. To positively identify Tiarella wherryi, all of the following key features must be verified (in any order):

Stolon always absent Basal leaves usually longer than wide Basal leaf lobes usually acute-acuminate with the terminal lobe prominently extended Flowering stem without leaves or foliaceous bracts If the plant in question has a stolon, it is not Tiarella wherryi. In that case, it is either Tiarella stolonifera or Tiarella austrina. Except for the flowering stem, the key features listed above are identical to those of Tiarella nautila, so distinguishing the two species may be difficult. Also note that Tiarella wherryi is similar to Tiarella cordifolia, differing only in the basal leaves.

Tiarella wherryi is endemic to the southeastern United States, ranging from southern Kentucky to southern Alabama, and from there eastward into Georgia. Counties where the species is known to occur include:

Alabama: Baldwin, Barbour, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Cullman, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Morgan, Randolph, Russell, Saint Clair, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston Georgia: Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Clay, Clayton, Dade, Decatur, Early, Floyd, Fulton, Gordon, Haralson, Harris, Polk, Quitman, Randolph, Upson, Walker, Whitfield Kentucky: Clinton, Cumberland, Edmonson, Hart, Laurel, McCreary, Metcalfe, Pulaski, Wayne Mississippi: Choctaw, Itawamba, Monroe, Tishomingo Tennessee: Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Bradley, Campbell, Cannon, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, DeKalb, Fentress, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Hamilton, Hickman, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Loudon, Macon, Marion, Marshall, Maury, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rutherford, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, Wilson The range of Tiarella wherryi overlaps with that of T. …