Cardamine macrocarpa |
Cardamine pratensis |
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largeseed bittercress |
Brewer's bitter-cress, cuckoo bitter-cress, cuckoo flower, European field bitter-cress, lady's-smock, meadow bittercress, pink cuckoo bitter-cress |
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Habit | Annuals; glabrous or sparsely puberulent. | Perennials; usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pilose basally. |
Rhizomes | absent. |
cylindrical, (not fragile), relatively short, (not fleshy). |
Stems | (simple or several from base), erect or decumbent, (flexuous or straight, narrowly winged-angled), unbranched or branched distally, (1.4–)2–4.5(–5.3) dm. |
erect, unbranched, (0.8–)1.5–5.5(–8) dm. |
Basal leaves | (soon withered), not rosulate. |
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Rhizomal leaves | simple or 5–9(–31)-foliolate, to 30 cm, (thin, veins raised), leaflets petiolulate or sessile; petiole (1–)2–7(–10) cm; lateral leaflets petiolulate or sessile, blade similar to terminal or smaller, orbicular, ovate, or obovate, margins crenate or repand; terminal leaflet (petiolule to 1.5 cm), blade orbicular or broadly obovate, 0.3–2 cm diam., base usually rounded, rarely subreniform or cuneate, margins repand, (apex rounded). |
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Cauline leaves | 3–9, middle ones 5–9-foliolate, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile; petiole 1–3 cm, base not auriculate; lateral leaflets similar to terminal, blade often smaller, with oblique base, distal leaflets subsessile, blade smaller and narrower distally; terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.2–0.8 cm), blade usually broadly ovate to narrowly lanceolate, rarely oblong, 0.7–2 cm × 2–10 mm, base cuneate to rounded, margins repand, crenate, or 3-lobed. |
2–12(–18), pinnatisect, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or sessile, (2–17 cm including petiole, thin, veins raised); petiole base not auriculate; lobes or leaflets (4–7(–13) each side of rachis), petiolulate or sessile and decurrent, blade similar to terminal lobe or leaflet, margins usually entire, rarely dentate; terminal lobe or leaflet (petiolulate or sessile), blade linear, oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, 1–2.5(–3.5) cm × 5–8(–10) mm, (surfaces glabrous). |
Racemes | ebracteate, (rachis slightly to strongly flexuous or geniculate). |
ebracteate. |
Flowers | sepals oblong, 2–3.5 × 0.7–1.2 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally; petals white, linear, 6–8 × 0.7–1 mm; filaments: median pairs 4–5 mm, lateral pair 3.5–4 mm; anthers oblong, 0.7–1 mm. |
sepals (erect or spreading), oblong or ovate, (2.5–)3–5(–6) × 1–2 mm, lateral pair saccate basally; petals usually purple or lilac, rarely white, obovate, (6–)8–15(–18) × 3–7.5(–10) mm, (clawed, apex rounded or emarginate); filaments: median pairs 5–10 mm, lateral pair 3–6 mm; anthers narrowly oblong, (0.8–)1.2–2 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | horizontal to divaricate or ascending, (3–)4–9(–12) mm. |
erect-ascending or subdivaricate, (5–)12–25(–30) mm. |
Fruits | linear, (2.5–)3–4.6 cm × 1.7–2.1 mm; ovules 14–22 per ovary; style 1–3 mm. |
linear, (1.6–)2.5–4.5(–5) cm × (1.2–)1.5–2.3 mm; ovules 20–30 per ovary; style (0.5–)1–2.2(–2.7) mm, (stout). |
Seeds | dark brown, oblong, 2–2.5 × 0.9–1.2 mm. |
light brown, oblong, 1.2–1.8(–2) × 1–1.4 mm. |
2n | = 16. |
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Cardamine macrocarpa |
Cardamine pratensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Sep. | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Rock crevices and ledges, gravel bars of mountain streams, moist rocky stream banks, shaded loamy forest floors | Moist grounds, stream sides, limestone shores, sedge and grass meadows, marshy pond margins, mossy areas, wet hollows, boggy areas, turfy shores, damp creek banks, swamps, brooks and ditches, moist ravines, springy swales |
Elevation | 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) | |
Distribution |
TX; Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León) |
CT; IN; MA; ME; MI; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VT; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Eurasia
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Discussion | Cardamine macrocarpa is known from the Chisos Mountains, Brewster County. The characters by which var. texana is said to differ from var. macrocarpa are artificially drawn, and the style length, presence or absence of indumentum on the pedicels, and degree of flexuosity of the raceme rachises do not correlate and can vary within a given area. For these reasons, we do not recognize infraspecific taxa in Cardamine macrocarpa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The taxonomy of Cardamine pratensis in North America requires further detailed study. Most, if not all, populations of this species were introduced from Europe. Some specimens resemble the European C. dentata Schultes (high polyploid, characterized by all leaves, including distalmost, pinnate with petiolate and sometimes deciduous leaflets) and these populations might be native. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 476. | FNA vol. 7, p. 482. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. macrocarpa var. texana | Dracamine pratensis |
Name authority | Brandegee: Zoë 5: 233. (1906) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 656. (1753) |
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