coralbells
Heuchera sanguinea
The vibrant red flowers of this species are evolutionary beacons designed specifically to attract hummingbirds, which are their primary pollinators.
- Scientific name
- Heuchera sanguinea
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Saxifragales › Saxifragaceae › Heuchera
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Rocky slopes, shaded canyon crevices, and moist pine-oak woodlands.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and soil minerals)
- Range
- Arizona, New Mexico, Northern Mexico
- Size
- 30 to 45 cm tall including flower stalks; 30 cm foliage spread
- Lifespan
- 3 to 5 years (as an individual crown, though clump-division extends this indefinitely)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss from urban development, climate-induced severe droughts, and illegal wild harvesting.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely approach and admire coralbells up close. Do not wild-harvest or dig up native specimens; purchase from nurseries instead. No known toxins, but ingestion is not recommended.
Heuchera sanguinea , called coral bells , is a species of flowering plant in the genus Heuchera , native to the US states of Arizona and New Mexico, and to northern Mexico. A number of cultivars are commercially available. The Latin specific epithet sanguinea means blood-red, in reference to the color of the flowers. Flowers are deep pink to red, sweetly fragrant, and bell-shaped. Heuchera sanguinea is a perennial herb. The plant attracts bees and hummingbirds.
Photo: Elliot Kulakow, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/5baf3d46-b76c-4ec9-92d7-0d2966e0d7e9.md