Heuchera micrantha

This species occurs along the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada from middle California to the southern tip of Alaska. It is divided into a number of varieties; I have posted photos for three of the most distinct varieties.

Heuchera micrantha var. macropetala

Of the varieties of H. micrantha, this one was described most recently (in the 1990s by Wells and Shipes). It is quite distinctive in floral shape, and the elongate, scabrous, leathery leaves are also distinctive. It is native to a narrow area in the Siskiyou mountains in northern California and Southern Oregon. These images come from cultivated plants I collected in Oregon.

H. micrantha var. diversifolia:

H. micrantha var. diversifolia is found in the northern part of the range of the species, north to British Columbia. This variety is distinctive for the elongate leaves (which are not coriaceous or strigose as in H. micrantha var. macropetala). It generally has sharper leaf teeth and often quite acute lobes (especially what has been called f. acuta). Sometimes the inflorescences are exceptionally large. These pictures are from wild populations in northwestern Washington.

H. micrantha var. micrantha:

This variety, found in the Columbia Gorge and other places in western Oregon and Washington, is primarily distinctive for its rounded leaf lobes and shallow leaf sinuses. It tends to be less hairy than other varieties, and a form with glabrous petioles is not uncommon. Without the subcaulescent caudex or the inflorescence, the glabrous variant could easily pass for H. americana.