Elmera Racemosa

Day 310: Whenever I hike the Lakes Trail for MeadoWatch, I always continue climbing past the last waypoint to check on Elmer, i.e., Elmera racemosa, Yellow Coralbells. It's not exactly a common plant in Mount Rainier National Park, but not sparse enough to be called "uncommon" although you certainly won't find it without some effort. It prefers to grow in the rocky, dry subalpine/alpine zones, often in talus or on rocky ledges...you know, among those ankle-wrenching rocks so typical of Pacific Northwest mountain paths above treeline. Its foliage resembles that of the Heucheras and in fact, for many years it was placed with them botanically because of the morphological similarities. We now know that it is sufficiently distinct to merit a separate genus. I was happy to see the population above the Stevens/Van Trump Monument not only thriving, but spreading. As an aside to that, I also observed Sitka Valerian in the same environment; a bit of a puzzlement, that, and something which I believe bears watching.

Elmera Racemosa

Day 324: Elmera racemosa is one of the plants I generally refer to by its scientific name. "Elmera" rolls off the tongue more easily than "Yellow Coralbells" and gives the plant the degree of distinction it is due. Elmera occurs only in the Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Washington and Oregon), and only in the alpine/subalpine zones. It is sufficiently distinct from other Coralbells (Heuchera) that it merits a genus all its own (Elmera). In Mount Rainier National Park, it is not considered uncommon, but never occurs in abundance at any location or below 5000'.

Elmera Racemosa, Yellow Coralbells

Day 316: Yellow Coralbells (Elmera racemosa) is a small plant with leaves you might mistake for those of a Heuchera. It was first considered to fall among the Heucheras until genetic research proved it to be a distinct genus and in fact, it is the one and only Elmera currently known. It occurs only in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon to British Columbia), and somewhat infrequently in the upper subalpine zone at Mount Rainier National Park. Elmera is a hardy plant capable of surviving both cold winters and dry summers.