Diario de trscavo

iNaturalist recognizes five species of Foamflowers (Tiarella) in eastern North America, but in Alabama and Mississippi, there are just two: Tiarella wherryi and Tiarella austrina. Since Tiarella austrina is confined to just two counties in northeastern Alabama, Tiarella wherryi is the primary species in the region.

Distribution of Tiarella in Alabama counties (overlap in bold):

• Tiarella wherryi: 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
• Tiarella austrina: Jackson, Madison

Distribution of Tiarella in Mississippi counties:

• Tiarella wherryi: Choctaw, Itawamba, Monroe, Tishomingo

Observations of Tiarella wherryi in Alabama:

• Observations of Tiarella wherryi in an expected county in Alabama
• Observations of Tiarella wherryi in an unexpected county in Alabama

Observations of Tiarella austrina in Alabama:

• Observations of Tiarella austrina in an expected county in Alabama
• Observations of Tiarella austrina in an unexpected county in Alabama

Observations of Tiarella wherryi in Mississippi:

• Observations of Tiarella wherryi in an expected county in Mississippi
• Observations of Tiarella wherryi in an unexpected county in Mississippi

Tips for identification of Tiarella species:

• Identification of Tiarella austrina
• Identification of Tiarella wherryi

To distinguish species, look for stem leaves. Only Tiarella austrina has stem leaves.

For details, including a color-coded range map, see: Nesom, Guy L. (2021). "Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 31: 1–61. (A shortened version of Nesom's paper was published by the North Carolina Botanical Garden in 2022.)

For more general information about Tiarella, see: Observing and identifying Foamflowers in eastern North America

If you observe a plant with a branched flowering stem, add an observation field to track this. On any observations page, under the heading “Observation Fields”, do the following:

1. Choose a field: branched stem
2. Select a value: yes or maybe
3. Click: “Add”

Click the link below for the current list of observations that specify this field:

• Observation field: branched stem

This observation field was created for certain species in genus Tiarella but the above observation field may be applied to any plant with a branched flowering stem.

The Sail-leaf Foamflower (Tiarella nautila) is one of five species split from Tiarella cordifolia in November 2022. To identify Tiarella nautila, all of the following key features must be verified (in any order): [Nesom 2021]

• Stolon always absent
• Basal leaves usually longer than wide
• Basal leaf lobes usually acute-acuminate with the terminal lobe prominently extended
• Flowering stem usually with leaves or foliaceous bracts

If the plant in question has a stolon, it is not Tiarella nautila. In that case, it is either Tiarella stolonifera or Tiarella austrina.

Except for the flowering stem, the features listed above are identical to those of Tiarella wherryi, so distinguishing the two species may be difficult. Likewise, except for the stolon, Tiarella nautila has features similar to Tiarella austrina, so expect difficulties there as well.

Following [Nesom 2021], observations of plants with a branched flowering stem have been identified as Tiarella nautila. Not every instance of Tiarella nautila has a branched stem, but no other species of Tiarella has that feature. In other words, a branched flowering stem is sufficient to conclude Tiarella nautila. See Figures 44, 45, 49, 50, and 52 in [Nesom 2021].

To easily access observations exhibiting a branched flowering stem, an observation field was created:

• Observations of Tiarella with a branched flowering stem

Conclusion: Nearly one-third of all observations of Tiarella nautila have a branched flowering stem.

For details, including a color-coded range map, see: Nesom, Guy L. (2021). "Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 31: 1–61. (A shortened version of Nesom's paper was published by the North Carolina Botanical Garden in 2022.)

For more general information about Tiarella, see: Observing and identifying Foamflowers in eastern North America

Since November 2022, iNaturalist recognizes five species of Foamflowers (Tiarella) in eastern North America. It is difficult to distinguish species in their native habitat, let alone in cultivation. Consequently, every observation of a planted plant should start at genus unless the source of the plant is known and trusted.

For observers

If a plant is planted, be sure to mark it as "not wild". If that plant is left alone, and new plants appear, the new plants are "wild" according to iNat's definition. In a garden setting, however, where plants are seldom left alone (almost by definition), a group of plants may never become "wild", no matter how much the original planting has expanded.

For a long time, the names "heartleaf foamflower" and "Tiarella cordifolia" (and even "foamflower" in some circles) were universally used to refer to the one and only species of Tiarella in eastern North America. That is no longer the case. Strictly speaking, Tiarella cordifolia refers to a narrowly confined taxon distributed along the eastern coastal states of the U.S., from Maryland to Georgia.

If you have information about the source of the plant(s) in cultivation, you may want to add a note or comment to that effect. In most cases, however, the leading ID of the observation should be left at genus (Tiarella).

For identifiers

Identifying Tiarella in cultivation is the ultimate challenge since location information is lacking in almost all cases. There just aren't enough morphological characters to go around. From the identifier's point of view, the best character is the stolon. A photo that clearly depicts a stolon rules out three of the five species. Such a plant (cultivated or otherwise) is either Tiarella stolonifera or Tiarella austrina. The latter has stem leaves while the former does not.

At the other extreme, a plant with lobed basal leaves is probably a cultivar, and therefore not identifiable to species. Such a plant should be kept at genus indefinitely.

Resources

For general information about Tiarella, see: Observing and identifying Foamflowers in eastern North America

To browse photos in iNaturalist or to learn identification tips in Wikipedia, click the links below:

• Tiarella austrina (iNaturalist (Wikipedia)
• Tiarella cordifolia sensu stricto (iNaturalist) (Wikipedia)
• Tiarella nautila (iNaturalist) (Wikipedia)
• Tiarella stolonifera (iNaturalist) (Wikipedia)
• Tiarella wherryi (iNaturalist) (Wikipedia)

I added my 15,000th observation to iNaturalist on January 17, 2023!

Thanks to everyone who helped me reach this milestone, especially those who shared their expertise by adding identifications or answering questions. I've learned a lot in the 4+ seasons I've been involved on the platform.

Most of my observations (14,854) were made in Vermont, USA. I've lived in many places but Vermont is the best. What a great place to be outdoors and observe wildlife! (Well, not precisely at this wintry moment, but you know what I mean.)

My long-term goal is to observe as many plant species as possible. Since Vermont has over 2,800 plant species, that should keep me busy for awhile.

May all your observations bring you knowledge, understanding, and delight!

Jack-in-the-Pulpits is a common name for a complex of five closely-related species, three of which are known to occur in Vermont: Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Bog Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema stewardsonii), and Small Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema pusillum). A few key questions are sufficient to determine the species:

1. Are the leaflets glaucous or green underneath?
2. Is the spathe tube strongly fluted (ridged) in cross-section?
3. Is the spathe hood striped underneath?
4. Is the tip of the spadix cylindric or clavate?

If in doubt, it’s probably best to assign an ID at the level of the species complex (Arisaema triphyllum species complex). For more information, see:

• Jack-in-the-Pulpits in Vermont (googledoc)

A table of characters and an identification key are included, plus information about the geographical distribution of Arisaema in Vermont and New England. A short glossary is included at the end of the googledoc.