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alpine bitter-cress

beautiful bitter-cress, beautiful bittercres, Nuttall's bittercress, Nuttall's toothwort, palmate toothwort, slender toothwort

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).

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).

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.

Cardamine bellidifolia

Cardamine nuttallii

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
from FNA
AK; CA; ME; NH; OR; WA; AB; BC; LB; NT; NU; QC; YT; Greenland; n Europe; Asia (Russian Far East, Siberia)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 468. FNA vol. 7, p. 478.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine
Sibling taxa
C. angulata, C. angustata, C. blaisdellii, C. breweri, C. bulbosa, C. californica, C. clematitis, C. concatenata, C. constancei, C. cordifolia, C. digitata, C. diphylla, C. dissecta, C. douglassii, C. flagellifera, C. flexuosa, C. hirsuta, C. holmgrenii, C. impatiens, C. longii, C. macrocarpa, C. maxima, C. micranthera, C. microphylla, C. nuttallii, C. nymanii, C. occidentalis, C. oligosperma, C. pachystigma, C. parviflora, C. pattersonii, C. penduliflora, C. pensylvanica, C. pratensis, C. purpurea, C. rotundifolia, C. rupicola, C. umbellata
C. angulata, C. angustata, C. bellidifolia, C. blaisdellii, C. breweri, C. bulbosa, C. californica, C. clematitis, C. concatenata, C. constancei, C. cordifolia, C. digitata, C. diphylla, C. dissecta, C. douglassii, C. flagellifera, C. flexuosa, C. hirsuta, C. holmgrenii, C. impatiens, C. longii, C. macrocarpa, C. maxima, C. micranthera, C. microphylla, C. nymanii, C. occidentalis, C. oligosperma, C. pachystigma, C. parviflora, C. pattersonii, C. penduliflora, C. pensylvanica, C. pratensis, C. purpurea, C. rotundifolia, C. rupicola, C. umbellata
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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