Cardamine flexuosa |
Cardamine cordifolia |
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wavy bitter-cress, wood bitter-cress, woodland bitter-cress |
heart-leaf bitter-cress, large mountain bitter-cress, Lyall's bitter-cress |
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Habit | Annuals or biennials; sparsely to densely hirsute basally or throughout, or glabrous. | Perennials; glabrous or densely puberulent. |
Rhizomes | absent. |
cylindrical, slender or stout, 1.5–3 mm diam., (not fleshy). |
Stems | erect, ascending, or decumbent, branched or unbranched, (0.6–)1–5 dm, (slightly flexuous). |
erect, unbranched or branched distally, 2–7(–10.2) dm, glabrous or sparsely to densely puberulent basally or throughout. |
Basal leaves | (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. |
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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. |
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Cauline leaves | 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). |
(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). |
Racemes | ebracteate. |
ebracteate. |
Flowers | 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. |
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. |
Fruiting pedicels | divaricate or ascending, (5–)6–14(–17) mm. |
divaricate to ascending, (7–)10–20 mm. |
Fruits | 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. |
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. |
Seeds | brown, oblong or subquadrate, 0.9–1.5 × 0.6–1 mm, (narrowly margined or not). |
brown, oblong, 1.6–2 × 1–1.3 mm. |
2n | = 32. |
= 24. |
Cardamine flexuosa |
Cardamine cordifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Disturbed areas, fields, nurseries, plantations, gardens, flower beds, lawns, roadsides | Stream banks, springs, shady gullies, creek bottoms, lakeshores, ponds, cold springs, meadows, moist hillsides, mossy areas, alpine streams, mixed coniferous forests |
Elevation | 0-1100 m (0-3600 ft) | 600-3600 m (2000-11800 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; CA; FL; GA; IL; IN; LA; MD; MI; NC; NY; OH; OR; RI; TX; VA; WA; BC; NF; ON; Europe; e Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, Central America, South America, Australia]
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AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC
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Discussion | 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.) |
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. 474. | FNA vol. 7, p. 471. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine | Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. flexuosa subsp. debilis, C. flexuosa var. debilis, C. hirsuta subsp. flexuosa, C. scutata subsp. flexuosa | 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 |
Name authority | Withering: Arr. Brit. Pl. ed. 3, 3: 578. (1796) | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s., 4: 8. (1849) |
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