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American winter cress, American wintercress rocket, American yellow-rocket, erect-fruit wintercress, winter cress, yellow rocket

Habit Biennials or perennials; usually glabrous, except blade auricles often ciliate. Annuals, biennials, or perennials; eglandular.
Stems

(1–)2–6(–10) dm.

Basal leaves

petiole (0.5–)1–7(–15) cm, (rarely ciliate basally);

blade usually lyrate-pinnatifid, (1–)1.5–6(–11) cm, lobes (0, 1, or) 2–4 (or 5) on each side, lateral lobes oblong or ovate, 0.2–1 cm × 1–5 mm, not fleshy, margins entire, terminal lobe 1.5–5 cm × 10–25 mm.

Cauline leaves

blade usually lyrate-pinnatifid (sometimes undivided and margins coarsely toothed or subentire), lateral lobes 1–4, (usually oblong or ovate, rarely lanceolate, to 2 × 1 cm), margins entire, (terminal lobe to 5 × 3 cm, margins usually entire or repand, rarely dentate); conspicuously auriculate, auricles ovate or narrowly oblong, (to 8 × 5 mm, margins entire).

(rarely absent), usually petiolate, sometimes sessile;

blade (simple or compound), base auriculate or not, margins entire or dentate to pinnately lobed.

Racemes

usually ebracteate (Selenia bracteate throughout), often elongated in fruit.

Flowers

sepals 2.5–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm, lateral pair slightly saccate basally, margins scarious, (subapically sparsely pubescent or glabrous);

petals yellow or pale yellow, oblanceolate, 5–7(–8) × (1.5–)2–3 mm, base attenuate, apex rounded;

filaments 3–4.5 mm;

anthers 1 mm;

ovules (24–)26–36 per ovary;

gynophore to 0.5 mm.

actinomorphic;

sepals erect to spreading or ascending, lateral pair seldom saccate basally;

petals white, yellow, pink, lilac, or purple, claw usually present, rarely absent, often distinct;

filaments unappendaged, not winged;

pollen 3-colpate.

Fruiting pedicels

erect or ascending, (2–)3–6(–7) mm, terete or subquadrangular, stout, (narrower than fruit).

Fruits

erect to erect-ascending, rarely appressed to rachis, torulose, terete to subquadrangular, (2.5–)3.1–4(–4.5) cm × 1.5–2 mm;

style stout, 0.5–1.2(–2) mm.

silicles or siliques, dehiscent, unsegmented, terete, 4-angled, or latiseptate, rarely angustiseptate;

ovules 4–300[–numerous] per ovary;

style distinct or obsolete (absent in Subularia);

stigma usually entire.

Seeds

brown, somewhat plump, ovoid or oblong, 1.2–1.5 × 0.9–1 mm.

biseriate or uniseriate;

cotyledons usually accumbent, sometimes incumbent.

Trichomes

absent or simple.

2n

= 16.

Barbarea orthoceras

Brassicaceae tribe Cardamineae

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jul.
Habitat Open grassland, sandbars, scree, alpine meadows, ledges, rocky cliffs, forests, streamsides, railroad embankment, boggy ground, gravel pits, moist grassy slopes
Elevation 0-3400 m (0-11200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; e Asia; c Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Nearly worldwide
Discussion

M. L. Fernald (1909) reported the southwestern Asian Barbarea plantaginea de Candolle from Alaska, but it is certain that his records were based on plants of B. orthoceras, which is rather rare in New England, where it appears to be restricted to portions of northern Maine and New Hampshire.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Genera 12, species ca. 335 (10 genera, 85 species in the flora).

The assignment of Subularia to Cardamineae is provisional and based solely on morphology.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 462. FNA vol. 7, p. 458.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Barbarea Brassicaceae
Sibling taxa
B. stricta, B. verna, B. vulgaris
Subordinate taxa
Synonyms B. americana, B. orthoceras var. dolichocarpa, Campe orthoceras
Name authority Ledebour: Index Seminum (Dorpat) 2. (1824) Dumortier: Fl. Belg., 124. (1827)
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