Piedmont Foamflower
Tiarella cordifolia
Found in moist forests, cove forests, rock outcrops, well-drained bottomland forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 5–12 inches
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually 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?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- Spring
Recorded in 50 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Habitats
Moist forests; rich cove forests; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits; floodplain and bottomland forests.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 113 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
Care
- Keep the soil moist; this plant does not tolerate drought.
Who uses this plant?
0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Tiarella
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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Tiarella
- 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 3a–8b
- Flower color
- Pink or white
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Spring
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Spring” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “5–12 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont differs)
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont differ)
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Foamflower
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| 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.
Growing cautions
- Spreads by runners. Spreads by slender runners to form colonies. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
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