coral bells

noun

Heuchera sanguinea, a species of herbaceous perennial in the family Saxifragaceae, native to North America.

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Meanings

nouncoral bells pl (plural only)

alternative coralbells · alternative coral-bells

  1. pluralplural onlyHeuchera sanguinea, a species of herbaceous perennial in the family Saxifragaceae, native to North America.

    A powdery mildew on coral bells was determined to be Sphaerotheca humuli var. fuliginea. […] Coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea) are grown commonly as perennial border or edging plants in California.

    1964, Robert D. Raabe, “CLEISTOTHECIA OF A POWDERY MILDEW ON CORAL BELLS”, in The Plant Disease Reporter, page 416
  2. pluralplural onlyAny of the plants of genus Heuchera.

    Although conspicuous, the flowers of Heuchera are somewhat beside the point. Also called coral bells, the plant’s foliage is regarded as its raison d’être, brightening dark garden corners with yellow, white, copper, coral, purple, red or pink, often ruffled leaves.

    2024 November 12, Jessica Damiano, “There are flowers too? Some plants prized for foliage surprise gardeners with late-season blooms”, in Associated Press
    1 more example

    Various cultivars of purple-leaved Heuchera (coral bells), crimson-leaved annuals such as Solonostemon 'Red Carpet' (coleus), Alternanthera dentata 'Rubiginosa' (alternanthera), and the splendid shrublike annual Euphorbia cotinifolia (red spurge)—these dark reds help carry the eye around a planting bed or along the front of a border.

    2009 August 25, Lynden B Miller, Parks Plants and People: Beautifying The Urban Landscape, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 100

    Synonyms: alumroot

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of the plants of genus Heuchera.

Similar

Origin

From coral (adjective) + bells, from the orange-pink colour and flared shape of its flowers.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Japanese 壺珊瑚
  • 壺珊瑚 (tsubo sango)Heuchera sanguinea
Cite this entry
APA

coral bells. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coral%20bells

MLA

“coral bells.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coral%20bells. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coral bells,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coral%20bells.

Source: coral bells on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.