Cardamine bellidifolia |
Cardamine nuttallii |
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alpine bitter-cress |
beautiful bitter-cress, beautiful bittercres, Nuttall's bittercress, Nuttall's toothwort, palmate toothwort, slender toothwort |
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Habit | Perennials (somewhat cespitose, subscapose); glabrous throughout. | Perennials; glabrous or sparsely pubescent. |
Rhizomes | absent (caudex usually with slender, rarely stout, rhizomelike branches). |
(tuberiform, fragile), with ovoid to oblong or cylindrical nodal swellings, slender, 2–5 mm diam., (fleshy). |
Stems | erect to ascending, branched (several), 0.1–0.8(–1.4) dm, glabrous. |
erect, unbranched, 0.5–2(–3) dm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent distally. |
Basal leaves | rosulate, simple, (0.6–)1.2–5(–7) cm; petiole (3–)1–3.5(–5.5) cm; blade usually ovate to oblong, rarely oblanceolate to obovate, (0.4–)0.8–1.7(–2.5) cm × (2–)5–10(–16) mm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins usually entire, rarely repand or obtusely small-toothed (apex obtuse). |
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Rhizomal leaves | simple or 3 (or 5)-foliolate, (3–)4–20(–25) cm, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile; petiole (2–)3–18(–21) cm; lateral leaflets (when present) petiolulate to subsessile, blade similar to terminal, sometimes smaller; terminal leaflet (subsessile or petiolule 0.2–3 cm), blade (simple leaf or terminal leaflet) reniform to suborbicular or ovate to oblong, (0.9–)1.3–4(–5.2) cm × (8–)12–50(–70) mm, base cordate to obtuse, margins crenate, dentate, or 5–7-lobed, (apiculae terminating teeth or lobes, surfaces glabrous). |
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Cauline leaves | 0 or 1 (or 2), simple, shortly petiolate; petiole base not auriculate; blade similar to basal leaves, much smaller. |
1–3, 3 (or 5)-foliolate, (appearing palmate), petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or sessile; petiole (0.2–)0.5–2(–3) cm, base not auriculate; lateral leaflets sessile, blade similar to terminal, smaller; terminal leaflet petiolulate or sessile, blade broadly ovate to oblong or linear, (0.5–)1–3.5(–6) cm, margins usually entire or dentate, rarely lobed. |
Racemes | ebracteate. |
ebracteate. |
Flowers | sepals oblong, 2–3(–4) × 0.8–1.5(–2) mm, lateral pair not saccate basally; petals white, oblanceolate, 4–5.5(–7) × 1.3–2(–2.5) mm (not clawed, apex rounded or emarginate); filaments: median pairs 2.5–4 mm, lateral pair 2–3 mm; anthers oblong, 0.5–0.9 mm. |
sepals oblong, 3.5–5 × 1.5–2 mm, lateral pair saccate basally; petals usually purple to pale pink, rarely white, obovate, 10–15 × 4–7.5 mm, (not clawed, apex rounded); filaments: median pairs 5–8 mm, lateral pair 3.5–5 mm; anthers oblong, 1.5–2 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | ascending to erect, 3–6(–8) mm. |
ascending to divaricate, 10–35 mm. |
Fruits | linear, (0.8–)1.3–2.8(–3.7) cm × 1.3–2 mm; ovules 8–18 per ovary; style 0.5–3 mm. |
linear, 2.5–5.6 cm × 2–2.3 mm; ovules 8–16 per ovary; style 4–8 mm. |
Seeds | brown, oblong, 1.5–2 × 0.9–1.2 mm. |
dark brown, oblong, 2–2.5 × 1.4–1.6 mm. |
2n | = 16. |
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Cardamine bellidifolia |
Cardamine nuttallii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Mossy areas, tundra, marshes at stream headwaters, cliffs, talus slopes, barren chert slopes, moist rock crevices, rocky slopes, alpine streams, sandy beaches, moist rocky streambeds | Open pine forests, damp woods, shaded bottomlands, mossy slopes, streamsides, shaded and moist hillsides |
Elevation | 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft) | 150-1000 m (500-3300 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; ME; NH; OR; WA; AB; BC; LB; NT; NU; QC; YT; Greenland; n Europe; Asia (Russian Far East, Siberia)
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CA; OR; WA; BC
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Discussion | The infraspecific taxonomy of Cardamine nuttallii has been based almost entirely on the division and margin of rhizomal leaves. The treatments by O. E. Schulz (1903), L. E. Detling (1937), and R. C. Rollins (1993), though utilizing the same characters, varied considerably, especially in the application of names to varieties. The absence of rhizomal leaves on most specimens makes varietal determination an almost impossible task. Furthermore, leaf morphology is so highly variable that it is not useful for formally recognizing some of the other variants in the species. We therefore prefer to not subdivide the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 468. | FNA vol. 7, p. 478. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. bellidifolia var. beringensis, C. bellidifolia var. laxa, C. bellidifolia var. pachyphylla, C. bellidifolia var. pinnatifida | Dentaria tenella, C. californica var. gemmata, C. gemmata, C. nuttallii var. covilleana, C. nuttallii var. dissecta, C. nuttallii var. gemmata, C. nuttallii var. pulcherrima, C. pulcherrima, C. pulcherrima var. tenella, C. quercetorum, C. tenella var. covilleana, C. tenella var. dissecta, C. tenella var. quercetorum, Dentaria gemmata, Dentaria macrocarpa, Dentaria macrocarpa var. pulcherrima, Dentaria quercetorum, Dentaria tenella var. palmata, Dentaria tenella var. pulcherrima, Dentaria tenella var. quercetorum |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 654. (1753) | Greene: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2: 389. (1887) |
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