''Tiarella wherryi'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Saxifragaceae Saxifragaceae is a family of herbaceous perennial flowering plants, within the core eudicot order Saxifragales. The taxonomy of the family has been greatly revised and the scope much reduced in the era of molecular phylogenetic analysis. The fa ...

. The specific name ''wherryi'' recognizes Edgar Wherry, the botanist who collected some of the first specimens in the early 1930s. Commonly called Wherry's foamflower, it is the southernmost of all species of ''Tiarella'' in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

, where its range approaches the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

in southern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Description

''Tiarella wherryi'' is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent wood, woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennial plant, perennials, and nearly all Annual plant, annuals and Biennial plant, biennials. Definition ...

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 ''Tiarella stolonifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name ''stolonifera'' means "spreading by stolons", an important characteristic of this species (not to be confused with '' Tiarella austrina'', whi ...

'' 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 ''Tiarella cordifolia'', the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name ''cordifolia'' means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of ''Tiarella'' in eastern N ...

'', differing only in the basal leaves.

Taxonomy

''Tiarella wherryi'' was described by Olga Lakela in 1937. Its

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

was collected by Edgar Wherry in

Polk County, Tennessee Polk County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 17,544. Its county seat is Benton. The county was created on November 28, 1839, from parts of Br ...

in 1933. The specific name ''wherryi'' honors the man whose "collections and suggestions have materially contributed to the progress and the outcome of the study". Accordingly the species is commonly called Wherry's foamflower. Lakela segregated ''Tiarella wherryi'' from ''

'' but the influential Flora of North America considered ''T. wherryi'' to be a synonym for ''T. cordifolia''. Subsequently most authorities followed suit. In 2021, Guy Nesom resurrected ''T. wherryi'' as one of five species in eastern North America.

Distribution

''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. stolonifera'' in Kentucky (Laurel, McCreary, Pulaski) and Tennessee (Anderson, Campbell, Knox, Morgan, Roane, Scott); with '' T. nautila'' in Georgia (Bartow, Floyd) and Tennessee (Monroe, Polk); and with a small disjunct population of ''T. austrina'' in Alabama (Jackson, Madison) and Tennessee (Franklin). In northeastern Georgia, the range of ''T. wherryi'' approaches that of '' T. cordifolia'' in the vicinity of Jackson County.

Conservation

The global conservation status of ''Tiarella wherryi'' is unknown. Based on the individual state rankings of ''Tiarella cordifolia''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

, it may be inferred that ''Tiarella wherryi'' is imperiled (S2) in Mississippi.

References

Bibliography

* * wherryi Flora of the United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Plants described in 1937 Taxa named by Olga Korhoven Lakela Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Saxifragaceae-stub