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Tiarella cordifolia

Common name:	Foamflower	Family:	Saxifragaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota, south to Michigan, Georgia and Virginia.
Habitat:	Rich moist woodlands in the mountains[43, 187].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Coolwort [H,E], False Mitrewort [E], Foam Flower [H], Heart-leaf Foamflower [B], Heartleaf Foamflower [P], Miterwort [E], Mitrewort [H], Tiarella [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cordifolia = heart shaped leaves
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Saxifrage family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain Germany Us

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.2m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic Hepatic Lithontripic Poultice Stomachic Tonic.

The whole plant is diuretic, hepatic, lithontripic and tonic. It is used in the treatment of bladder and liver problems and also indigestion and dyspepsia[4, 61, 244, 257]. An infusion of the root and leaves has been used to help small children put on weight and also as a wash for a baby's sore back[257]. The whole plant is rich in tannin and this is probably the medically active ingredient[222].
A tea made from the leaves is diuretic[222]. It has been used as a mouthwash and as a wash for sore eyes[222, 257]. The tea is held in the mouth to remove a white coating from the tongue[257].
A tea made from the roots is diuretic and is used in the treatment of children with diarrhoea or sore mouths[222, 257]. The crushed roots can be used as a poultice on wounds[257].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

Can be used as a ground cover plant[188]. It is rather slow to spread, though, and needs weeding for the first year or so[197]. Plants should be spaced about 60cm apart each way[208]. This is one of the most attractive and prolific ground cover plants[208].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist humus rich soil in a shady position[200]. Plants are tolerant of deep shade[188]. Prefers a light rich soil[4]. Prefers a woodland soil but succeeds in most soils[1]. Dislikes prolonged winter wet[200].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].
The plant makes a neat edging to a bed[4].
This species has become a weed in some gardens, spreading by means of long stolons[200]. The sub-species T. cordifolia collina has a non-creeping rootstock[187].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring or autumn[111]. The plant is quite vigorous and is best divided every second year[4]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Saxifragaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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