Starting a series within a series, I will be highlighting shade plants that grow well underneath trees, especially California Live Oak. I have a deep shade area beneath many trees here in my own garden and i am constantly looking for plants that can help green this area. — Douglas

Island Alum Root (Heuchera maxima) 

By Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link 

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Heuchera maxima is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family, known by the common names island alum root, Channel Islands coral bells, and Jill of the rocks.

It is endemic to the four northern Channel Islands of California, within Channel Islands National Park. It grows on canyon cliffs in coastal sage scrub habitats. ^[1]

Heuchera maxima is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing a broad patch of large, rounded, multilobed green leaves with long petioles and a fringe of hairs along the edges. It grows 1–3 feet (30–91 cm) in height.

It produces an erect inflorescence up to 60 centimetres (24 in) tall, with many clusters of hairy, glandular flowers. Each flower is rounded with fleshy white or pink lobes and tiny petals curling away from the center. The protruding stamens are tipped with large anthers.

Heuchera maxima is also cultivated as an ornamental plant for traditional, drought tolerant, native plant, and wildlife gardens. It prefers part shade, including as a groundcover in dry shade conditions under oaks. ^[2] — Wikipedia

More information on Island Alum Root (Heuchera maxima):

• Island Alum Root (Heuchera maxima) in Wikipedia
• Island Alum Root (Heuchera maxima) at Las Pilitas Nursery
• Island Alum Root (Heuchera maxima) at Theodore Payne Foundation

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Previously in the Interesting Plant series: 

• Wood Strawberry/California strawberry (Fragaria californica)
• Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus/Diplacus aurantiacus)
• Red Stem Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera/Cornus sericea)
• Blackfruit Dogwood (Cornus sessilis)
• California Spikenard and Elk Clover (Aralia californica)
• Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica)
• California Pipevine/California Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia californica)
• Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)
• Begonia Rex (Painted-leaf begonia)
• Leonotis leonurus
• Matilija Poppy (Romneya)
• Melocactus matanzanus (Turk’s Cap Cactus)
• Coleus “Redhead”
• Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’
• Bacopa monnieri (Water hyssop)
• Lycoris squamigera (Naked Lady Lily)
• Kong Coleus (Plectranthus/Solenostemon scutellarioides “Kong Series”)
• Crassula plegmatoides
• Agave victoriae-reginae
• Mountain Cornflower (Centaurea montana)
• Euphorbia ‘Black Bird’
• Firecracker vine (Ipomoea lobata)
• Eryngium yuccifolium
• Dahlia ‘Karma Choc’
• Echeveria Agavoides
• Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa)
• Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)
• Seaside Daisy, Beach Aster (Erigeron glaucus)
• Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) 
• California Lilac (Ceanothus)
• Bigberry Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca)
• Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana)
• Malva Rosa (Lavatera assurgentiflora)
• Baby Blue-Eyes (Nemophila)
• Coral Bells or Alum Root (Heuchera)
• Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) 
• Echeveria ‘Lola’
• View all past “Interesting Plant” posts

Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas

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