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cut-leaf toothwort

California toothwort, coast toothwort, milk maids, tooth wort

Habit Perennials; usually sparsely pubescent, sometimes glabrous. Perennials; usually glabrous, rarely minutely pubescent.
Rhizomes

(tuberiform, fragile), moniliform, segments fusiform, 2–10(–20) mm diam. (fleshy).

(tuberiform, fragile), globose to ovoid or suboblong, (3–)4–10 mm diam., (fleshy, deeply underground).

Stems

erect, unbranched, (1–)2–4(–5.5) dm, glabrous or pubescent distally.

erect, unbranched, (2–)2.7–6(–7)dm, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent.

Rhizomal leaves

3-foliolate, (7–)10–20(–30) cm, leaflets sessile;

petiole (4–)7–18(–25) cm;

lateral leaflets similar to terminal, blade sometimes smaller;

terminal leaflet blade oblong, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or linear, 2.5–6 cm, base cuneate, margins coarsely dentate to incised, laciniate, or 3-lobed (lobes usually toothed to incised, rarely entire, surfaces puberulent or not, trichomes 0.2–0.3 mm).

3 (or 5–7)-foliolate, sometimes simple, 8–25(–38) cm, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole (5–)8–25(–32) cm;

lateral leaflets (when present) petiolulate to subsessile, blade similar to terminal, sometimes smaller;

terminal leaflet (petiolule (0.7–)2–5(–11) cm), blade (of simple leaf) ovate to orbicular to broadly cordate or reniform, (1.5–)2.5–7.5(–10) cm × (12–)20–90(–130) mm, base obtuse to cordate, margins entire or dentate to shallowly sinuate, (often with apiculae at veins ending at margin, sometimes minutely pubescent on veins).

Cauline leaves

(2 or) 3, 3-foliolate (usually whorled or opposite, rarely alternate, similar in morphology to rhizomal leaves), petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole (1–)1.5–6(–7.5) cm, base not auriculate;

lateral leaflets sessile, blade similar to terminal, sometimes smaller;

terminal leaflet subsessile or petiolulate (to 3 cm), blade lanceolate, linear, or oblanceolate, (3–)4–10(–12) cm × (3–)5–20(–25) mm, margins usually coarsely dentate to incised, rarely subentire (margins minutely puberulent).

2–5, usually 3 (or 5)-foliolate, rarely simple, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or sessile;

petiole 1–5(–9) cm, base not auriculate;

lateral leaflets sessile, blade similar to terminal, smaller, margins usually dentate, rarely entire;

terminal leaflet sessile or petiolulate, blade usually broadly ovate to suborbicular or lanceolate, rarely narrowly oblong, 1–7 cm × (5–)10–47(–65) mm.

Racemes

ebracteate.

ebracteate.

Flowers

sepals oblong, (4–)5–8 × 2–4 mm, lateral pair slightly saccate basally;

petals white to pale pink, oblanceolate, (8–)10–20 × (3–)4–7(–9) mm, (short-clawed, apex rounded);

filaments: median pairs 8–12 mm, lateral pair 6–8 mm;

anthers oblong-linear, 1.5–2.5 mm.

sepals (erect to ascending), oblong, 3.5–4.5(–5.5) × 1.5–2(–2.5) mm, lateral pair saccate basally;

petals white to pale rose, often broadly obovate, 8–13(–15) × 4–8 mm (clawed, apex rounded);

filaments: median pairs 4–6.5 mm, lateral pair 3–4 mm;

anthers oblong, 1.2–1.7 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

ascending to divaricate, (6–)10–27(–33) mm.

ascending to divaricate, 10–33(–41) mm.

Fruits

linear-lanceolate, (2–)2.5–3.8(–4.8) cm × 1.5–3 mm; (valves glabrous or sparsely pubescent);

ovules 10–14 per ovary;

style (2–)5–9(–12) mm.

linear, 2.2–5.4(–6) cm × 2–3 mm;

ovules 12–22 per ovary;

style 2–5(–6) mm.

Seeds

brown, oblong, 1.6–3 × 1.8–2 mm.

dark brown, oblong to broadly ovoid, 1.7–2.8 × 1.2–1.8 mm.

2n

= 128–256.

= 32.

Cardamine concatenata

Cardamine californica

Phenology Flowering Feb–May. Flowering Jan–May.
Habitat Wooded bottoms and bluffs, rich woods, limestone cliffs and outcrops, rocky banks, mesic forests, moist areas with leaf litter, floodplain woods Wooded ravines, forest floors, shady slopes, open woods, shady rock crevices, stream banks and bottoms, canyons, moist hillsides, cliffs
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) 0-1400 m (0-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The synonymy above suggests that Schulz, Detling, and Rollins did not agree on the characters used or the number and rank of taxa recognized. The taxonomy of this complex is based solely on differences in the number of leaflets, their division, size, and shape, all other aspects of these plants (e.g., rhizomes, flowers, fruits, and seeds) being fairly uniform. Indeed, the infraspecific taxa recognized represent only part of the overall variation in the species, and one is faced with either recognizing poorly defined infraspecific taxa or treating the entire complex as a single polymorphic species. In the absence of thorough biosystematic and molecular studies on this group, we prefer not to recognize any infraspecific taxa.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 470. FNA vol. 7, p. 469.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine
Sibling taxa
C. angulata, C. angustata, C. bellidifolia, C. blaisdellii, C. breweri, C. bulbosa, C. californica, C. clematitis, 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. 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
Synonyms Dentaria concatenata, C. laciniata var. integra, C. laciniata var. lasiocarpa, Dentaria laciniata, Dentaria laciniata var. alterna, Dentaria laciniata var. coalescens, Dentaria laciniata var. integra, Dentaria laciniata var. latifolia, Dentaria laciniata var. opposita Dentaria californica, C. californica var. brevistyla, C. californica var. cardiophylla, C. californica subsp. cuneata, C. californica var. cuneata, C. californica var. fecunda, C. californica var. integrifolia, C. californica var. pubescens, C. californica var. robinsoniana, C. californica var. sinuata, C. cardiophylla, C. cuneata, C. integrifolia, C. integrifolia var. sinuata, C. pachystigma var. dissectifolia, C. paucisecta, C. sinuata, Dentaria californica var. cardiophylla, Dentaria californica var. cuneata, Dentaria californica var. integrifolia, Dentaria californica var. sinuata, Dentaria cardiophylla, Dentaria cuneata, Dentaria integrifolia, Dentaria integrifolia var. californica, Dentaria integrifolia var. cardiophylla, Dentaria integrifolia var. traceyi, Dentaria pachystigma var. dissectifolia, Dentaria sinuata
Name authority (Michaux) O. Schwarz: Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 46: 188. (1939) (Nuttall) Greene: Fl. Francisc., 266. (1891)
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