The genus Heuchera is found in the saxifrage family, Saxifracaceae, with 80 other genera that includes the genus Saxifraga and its 400 species. Yikes!
My old (1976) Hortus Third says that there are about 35-50 Heuchera species found in North America and they are largely western. Eight species are found in Arizona and Heuchera sanguinea is found in Arizona, New Mexico and southward, of course.
Ms. Mesquitey and I always find it in rocky shady areas, like the shady side of a mountain or hill sides where it’s also moist. My ancient Kearney and Peebles, Arizona Flora (often referred to simply as “K and P” by plant geeks) says it found from 4,000 to 8,500 feet in elevation. And it blooms through the summer and into October. That’s pretty cool!
The photos are mine. The flowers are beautiful, but check out those basal leaves as well.
I think it’s fascinating that there are several species of winter fat found in Eurasia and Europe. That’s where the genus was first described...
I arrived in Tucson, Arizona in the fall of 1967 to attend the U of A. Up to that point I had been born...
Well, there is nothing more fun, well okay, for me, than starting in the desert grassland and slowly driving and stopping your way up...
