Cardamine impatiens |
Cardamine nuttallii |
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narrow-leaf bitter-cress |
beautiful bitter-cress, beautiful bittercres, Nuttall's bittercress, Nuttall's toothwort, palmate toothwort, slender toothwort |
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Habit | Biennials or, rarely, annuals; usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent basally. | Perennials; glabrous or sparsely pubescent. |
Rhizomes | absent. |
(tuberiform, fragile), with ovoid to oblong or cylindrical nodal swellings, slender, 2–5 mm diam., (fleshy). |
Stems | erect, (angled, sometimes flexuous), unbranched basally, usually branched distally, (1.2–)2–6.5(–9) dm. |
erect, unbranched, 0.5–2(–3) dm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent distally. |
Basal leaves | (often withered by flowering), rosulate, similar to cauline, with fewer distal leaflets. |
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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). |
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Cauline leaves | 9–24, (9–)13–25-foliolate, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate; petiole 2–6 cm, base auriculate (auricles to 10 × 2.2 mm); lateral leaflets similar to terminal, blade often smaller; terminal leaflet (petiolule to 0.5 cm), blade orbicular, obovate, ovate, or lanceolate, 1–4(–5) cm × 5–17 mm, margins entire or 3–5(–9)-toothed or -lobed. |
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, 1.2–2(–2.5) × 0.7–1(–1.2) mm, lateral pair not saccate basally; petals (rarely absent), white, oblanceolate, 1.5–4(–5) × 0.6–1.2 mm; filaments 2–3(–4) mm; anthers ovate, 0.3–0.5 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 | divaricate or ascending, 3.5–12(–15) mm. |
ascending to divaricate, 10–35 mm. |
Fruits | linear, (torulose), (1–)1.6–3(–3.5) cm × 0.9–1.5 mm; (valves glabrous or, rarely, pilose); ovules 10–30 per ovary; style 0.6–1.6(–2) mm. |
linear, 2.5–5.6 cm × 2–2.3 mm; ovules 8–16 per ovary; style 4–8 mm. |
Seeds | brown, oblong, 1.1–1.5 × 0.8–1 mm, (compressed, sometimes narrowly winged apically). |
dark brown, oblong, 2–2.5 × 1.4–1.6 mm. |
2n | = 16. |
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Cardamine impatiens |
Cardamine nuttallii |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Streamsides, slopes, roadsides, fields, disturbed areas | Open pine forests, damp woods, shaded bottomlands, mossy slopes, streamsides, shaded and moist hillsides |
Elevation | 0-200 m (0-700 ft) | 150-1000 m (500-3300 ft) |
Distribution |
CT; KY; MI; MN; NH; OH; PA; VA; WV; ON; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South Africa]
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CA; OR; WA; BC
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 476. | FNA vol. 7, p. 478. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine | Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. impatiens var. angustifolia | 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: 655. (1753) | Greene: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2: 389. (1887) |
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