Ep. 574 - Of Alumroots & Coral Bells: Hybridization in Heuchera
In Defense of Plants Podcast
In Defense of Plants
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 April 2026
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Whether you call them alumroots or coral bells, there is no denying the genus Heuchera is both beloved by gardeners and those who know where to find them in the wild. The closer you look at this genus, the more interesting things you will uncover. Just ask Dr. Ryan Folk who is very interested in what these plants can teach us about hybridization and plant evolution. Join us for a wonderfully deep dive into the wild world of Heuchera hybridization events. This episode was produced in part by Joe, Diane, Kim, Tanya, Neil, Matthew, April, Dana, Lilith, Sanza, Eva, Yellowroot, Wisewren, Nadia, Heidi, Blake, Josh, Laure, R.J., Carly, Lucia, Dana, Sarah, Lauren, Strych Mind, Linda, Sylvan, Austin, Sarah, Ethan, Elle, Steve, Cassie, Chuck, Aaron, Gillian, Abi, Rich, Shad, Maddie, Owen, Linda, Alana, Sigma, Max, Richard, Maia, Rens, David, Robert, Thomas, Valerie, Joan, Mohsin Kazmi Photography, Cathy, Simon, Nick, Paul, Charis, EJ, Laura, Sung, NOK, Stephen, Heidi, Kristin, Luke, Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Conversations like you're about to hear do not happen unless you support In Defensive Plants. |
| 0:04.4 | And now more than ever, we need conversations like this to reach as many ears as possible. |
| 0:08.9 | One of the best ways to help keep In Defensive Plants up and running is to become a patron over at patreon.com |
| 0:14.0 | slash In Defensive Plants. |
| 0:15.8 | In return for a tiny bit of support each month, you will get access to a completely separate |
| 0:20.2 | podcasts. It explores |
| 0:21.5 | a lot of really fun gardening topics, everything from seed collection and storage to growing native |
| 0:26.1 | plants, the struggles of trying to garden in different climates, and so much more. It's a heck of a lot of fun. |
| 0:32.2 | We're learning so much, and we're trying to share that with you. So come on and join the Patreon over |
| 0:36.7 | at patreon.com slash indefensive plants and help keep this show up and running in the process. I hope to see you over there. But in the meantime, on with the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Endefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of Indefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone doing this week? |
| 0:59.1 | I'm doing great because we are diving into a really interesting world of plant evolution, |
| 1:04.2 | hybridization, and the way you can kind of understand these bigger picture ideas by studying a single genus. Today's focus is on what are sometimes called alum roots, coral bells, |
| 1:09.8 | but what are collectively as a genus |
| 1:11.6 | refer to as the Hukera. They're a wonderful member of the Saxo for Gae, and they're doing |
| 1:16.3 | really interesting things reproductively. Joining us to talk about this is Dr. Ryan Fulke, who is |
| 1:21.3 | completely immersed in the world of Hukera and what they can teach us about plant evolution. |
| 1:25.6 | There are so many interesting things going on here, |
| 1:27.8 | really alien concepts, |
| 1:29.1 | and he's great at talking about all of them. |
| 1:31.5 | So let's just jump right into it. |
| 1:33.1 | Without further ado, |
| 1:34.0 | here's my conversation with Dr. Ryan Folk. |
... |
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