American Alumroot
Heuchera americana
Found in rocky forests, rock outcrops, particularly where soils are subacidic to circumneutral. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 1–3 feet
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- April to August
- Fruiting season
- Summer
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 89 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 20 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Olive-sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Heuchera
- Epinotia heucherana
8BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Heuchera
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Heuchera
- Colletes aestivalis
- Colletes andrewsi
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Heuchera
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Saxifragaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Cream, green, orange or purple
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Cream, green, orange or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications