Montane, subalpine. Rocks. Summer.
Mesa Verde National Park, Prater Ridge Trail, June 9, 2004.

These common, dainty white-to-yellow early summer flowers are cousins of the garden "Red Coral Bells".  They especially enjoy rocky areas and are often found there in colonies of several to a dozen or more plants. Their scalloped, thick, bright green leaves and tall swaying stalks make them easy to spot even from a distance.

The genus name was given by Linnaeus in 1753 for the German botanist J. H. Heucher.  The Latin species name means "small leaf" and was, in 1840, given by Nuttall who was the first to collect this plant for science in his 1834-1837 trip to the Pacific with the Wyeth Expedition. (More biographical information.)

Montane, subalpine. Rocks. Summer.
Lower Scotch Creek Road, July 1, 2004.