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heart-leaf bitter-cress, large mountain bitter-cress, Lyall's bitter-cress

broadleaf toothwort, crinkleroot, two-leaf toothwort

Habit Perennials; glabrous or densely puberulent. Perennials; usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent.
Rhizomes

cylindrical, slender or stout, 1.5–3 mm diam., (not fleshy).

(unsegmented), cylindrical, 2–10 mm diam., (somewhat uniform, fleshy, not fragile, with dentate leaf scars).

Stems

erect, unbranched or branched distally, 2–7(–10.2) dm, glabrous or sparsely to densely puberulent basally or throughout.

erect, unbranched, (1.2–)1.5–3.5(–4) dm, rarely sparsely pubescent distally.

Rhizomal leaves

usually absent, rarely present, simple, 5–15 cm;

petiole 2.5–12 cm;

blade reniform to cordate, 1.5–4.5(–6) cm.

3-foliolate, (5.5–)8–22(–26) cm, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole (3–)4.5–16(–20) cm;

lateral leaflets subsessile or petiolulate, blade often similar to terminal, base sometimes oblique;

terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.5–1.2 cm), blade ovate-elliptic to broadly ovate, (2–)3.5–8(–10) cm × (5–)20–65(–80) mm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins coarsely crenate or dentate, (surfaces puberulent, trichomes to 0.1 mm).

Cauline leaves

(3–)5–17(–23), simple or, rarely, proximalmost 3-foliolate, petiolate;

petiole 1–6.5(–8.5) cm, base not auriculate;

blade reniform, deltate-cordate, or ovate-cordate, (1–)2–7.2(–9.7) cm × 10–55(–85) mm, (somewhat fleshy), base cordate or truncate, margins crenate to slightly sinuate, (veins ending in apiculae, surfaces glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent).

2 (or 3) [(sub)opposite], 3-foliolate, (similar to rhizomal leaves), petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole (1–)2–4.5 cm, base not auriculate;

lateral leaflets similar to terminal;

terminal leaflet subsessile or petiolulate (0.2–1 cm), blade broadly elliptic to ovate, (2–)4–8(–10) cm × 10–50 mm, margins coarsely dentate or crenate, (margins minutely puberulent).

Racemes

ebracteate.

ebracteate.

Flowers

sepals oblong, 2.5–4.5 × 1.5–2 mm, lateral pair slightly saccate basally;

petals white, broadly obovate, 7–12 × 4–6 mm (claw to 6 mm, apex rounded to subtruncate or emarginate);

filaments: median pairs 3.5–5 mm, lateral pair 2–3.5 mm;

anthers oblong, 1–1.5 mm.

sepals oblong, (4–)5–8 × 2–3 mm, lateral pair slightly saccate basally;

petals white or pink to purple, obovate to oblanceolate, (7–)9–15(–17) × (3–)4–7 mm, (short-clawed, apex rounded);

filaments: median pairs 5–8 mm, lateral pair 3.5–6 mm;

anthers linear to oblong, 2.5–3 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

divaricate to ascending, (7–)10–20 mm.

ascending to divaricate, (10–)15–30(–36) mm.

Fruits

linear, (2–)2.5–3.7(–4) cm × 1.2–2 mm; (valves glabrous or sparsely puberulent);

ovules 14–24 per ovary;

style 0.5–3(–6) mm.

linear-lanceolate, 1.5–4 cm × 1.5–2.5 mm;

ovules 10–14 per ovary;

style 4–8(–10) mm.

Seeds

brown, oblong, 1.6–2 × 1–1.3 mm.

(rarely produced) brown, oblong, 2–2.2 × 1.2–1.5 mm (cotyledons incumbent).

2n

= 24.

= 96.

Cardamine cordifolia

Cardamine diphylla

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Stream banks, springs, shady gullies, creek bottoms, lakeshores, ponds, cold springs, meadows, moist hillsides, mossy areas, alpine streams, mixed coniferous forests Wooded bottoms and ravines, cliffs, bluffs, ledges, shaded slopes, meadows, moist fields, alluvial banks, rich woods
Elevation 600-3600 m (2000-11800 ft) 50-1300 m (200-4300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; GA; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cardamine cordifolia is highly variable in leaf morphology, especially in leaf width, depth of the cordate base, and indumentum. This variation occurs throughout the species range and is rather weakly or not at all correlated with geography. In the absence of a detailed biosystematic study over the entire species range, we follow N. H. Holmgren (2005b) in not recognizing any infraspecific taxa, instead of accepting the three rather poorly defined varieties recognized by R. C. Rollins (1993).

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 471. FNA vol. 7, p. 472.
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. concatenata, C. constancei, 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. 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 C. cordifolia var. cardiophylla, C. cordifolia var. diversifolia, C. cordifolia var. incana, C. cordifolia subsp. lyallii, C. cordifolia var. lyallii, C. cordifolia var. pubescens, C. incana, C. infausta, C. lyallii, C. uintahensis Dentaria diphylla, Dentaria bifolia, Dentaria incisa
Name authority A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s., 4: 8. (1849) (Michaux) Alph. Wood: Amer. Bot. Fl., 37. (1870)
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