Cardamine flagellifera
Cardamine flexuosa
Blue Ridge bittercress
wavy bitter-cress, wood bitter-cress, woodland bitter-cress
swollen, compact at stem base, (fleshy, stolons many, slender, ca. 1 mm diam., pubescent or glabrous).
absent.
erect, usually unbranched, rarely branched distally, 1–2.5 dm, sparsely to densely hirsute or pilose proximally, sparsely so or glabrous distally.
erect, ascending, or decumbent, branched or unbranched, (0.6–)1–5 dm, (slightly flexuous).
(often withered by anthesis), not rosulate, 5–15-foliolate, (2.7–)4–14(–19) cm, leaflets petiolulate;
petiole 0.7–5 cm, (ciliate or not);
lateral leaflet blade oblong, ovate, or elliptic, smaller than terminal, margins entire, repand, crenate, or 3 (or 5)-lobed;
terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.3–1.7 cm), blade reniform, broadly ovate, or suborbicular, 0.5–2.5 cm × 4–30 mm, margins repand, crenate, or 3 or 5-lobed.
usually simple, rarely 3-foliolate, (3–)6–16 cm, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;
petiole (1.5–)4–13 cm;
lateral leaflets subsessile or petiolulate (to 0.5 cm), blade similar to terminal, much smaller;
terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.5–2 cm), blade orbicular to reniform or broadly ovate, (1–)1.5–4.5 cm, base cordate, margins repand to coarsely crenate, (apiculate at vein endings, surfaces sparsely pubescent or glabrous).
2–5, 3 or 5-foliolate, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;
petiole 0.8–5 cm, base not auriculate;
lateral leaflets sessile or petiolulate (to 0.5 cm), blade similar to terminal, smaller;
terminal leaflet petiolulate (0.5–1.5 cm), blade broadly ovate to suborbicular, 1.5–4(–5) cm × 12–35 mm, margins repand to coarsely crenate or slightly lobed, (apiculate at vein endings, margins glabrous).
3–15, 5–15-foliolate [leaves (2–)3.5–5.5(–7) cm, including petiole], petiolate, leaflets petiolulate;
petiole base not auriculate;
lateral leaflets similar to basal, (0.4–2.5 mm wide).
ebracteate.
ebracteate.
sepals (ascending) oblong, 3–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally;
petals white, oblanceolate, 5–6.5(–8) × 1.5–2.5 mm, (not clawed, apex obtuse to subemarginate);
filaments: median pairs 3.5–5 mm, lateral pair 2.5–3 mm;
anthers oblong, 1.2–1.6 mm.
sepals oblong, 1.5–2.5 × 0.7–1 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally;
petals white, spatulate, 2.5–4(–5) × 1–1.7 mm; (stamens rarely 4, lateral pair absent);
filaments 2–3 mm;
anthers ovate, 0.3–0.5 mm.
ascending to divaricate-ascending, 7–20 mm.
divaricate or ascending, (5–)6–14(–17) mm.
linear, 1.5–2.5 cm × 1–1.2 mm;
ovules 10–14 per ovary;
style 1.2–2.5 mm.
linear, (torulose), (0.8–)1.2–2.8 cm × 1–1.5 mm;
ovules 18–40 per ovary;
style 0.3–1(–1.5) mm.
brown, oblong, 1.2–1.7 × 0.8–1.1 mm.
brown, oblong or subquadrate, 0.9–1.5 × 0.6–1 mm, (narrowly margined or not).
= 32.
Cardamine flagellifera
Cardamine flexuosa
According to J. Lihová et al. (2006), the populations referred to Cardamine flexuosa in North America comprise two taxa of different polyploid origins and evolutionary histories: tetraploid C. flexuosa (2n = 32), native to Europe, and the octoploid taxon informally called “Asian C. flexuosa” (2n = 64), native to eastern Asia. For the latter, the name C. flexuosa subsp. debilis can be used. Nevertheless, these two taxa should be recognized at species level and the correct name for the Asian species should be sought. Based on available data, both taxa occupy the same habitats in North America, but the Asian taxon is much more widespread. The occurrence of European C. flexuosa was, until now, confirmed only for Washington, where both taxa have been recorded. More detailed studies of the North American distributions of both these weeds are needed.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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