Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia L., Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, False Mitrewort, Heartleaf Foamflower

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Heartleaf Foamflower	Tiarella cordifolia L.	Saxifrage (Saxifragaceae)	Woodland	Spring to late summer
Other names and notes	(False Mitrewort). Noted for the many white 5-part flowers with very conspicuous stamens, on a leafless raceme standing above the basal leaves which are heart shape at the base and then with 5 to 7 shallow lobes. Total height up to 14". Varieties are available in the nursery trade for the home garden. It prefers moisture and partial shade. Works well as an understory plant in dappled shade.

Above: Foamflower can be found blooming from early May until late summer mainly on the path through the bog and also on Violet Trail. Above right: Seeds formed by early July. Below: The color can vary slightly as these with a pinkish tinge indicate.

Above: The lobed leaf with heart shaped base

Above: All leaves of the plant are basal.

Above left: An historic photo of May 31, 1952 taken by Martha Crone, of the bog path showing a massed bed of Foamflower that does not exist today. (Photo #3094, Martha Crone Collection, Minnesota Historical Society.) Right: The same area on June 5, 2008.

Notes: Eloise Butler recorded obtaining specimens of this plant in 1909 and again on April 30, 1912 from Gillett's Nursery in Southwick, Mass. This plant was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time. The plant is generally considered to be not native to Minnesota; specimens have been collected only from Stearns County. Its native range in the US is generally east of the Ohio River although Wisconsin reports it as native, but endangered.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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