Alpine heuchera (Heuchera glabra)
Other names alpine alumroot, smooth alumroot
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −34.4 °C
Cultivation
Succeeds in any good sweet garden soil that does not dry out in spring. Apt to hybridize with other members of this genus. A very ornamental plant.
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination is usually fairly rapid. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. The seed can also be sown in the middle of spring in an outdoor seedbed and planted out in early summer. Alternatively, you can sow the seed in an outdoor seedbed in the middle of summer for planting out in the following spring. Division in March or October.
Edible uses
Leaves - raw or cooked.
Medicinal uses
The root is antiseptic, salve, styptic and tonic.
Material uses
The root can be used as an alum substitute, this is a mordant used in fixing dyes. A good ground cover plant for the woodland garden.
Habitat
Stream banks and crevices of moist rocks from the coast to above the timber line.
Native range
Western N. America.