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Cardamine pattersonii

Saddle Mountain bitter-cress

cut-leaf toothwort

Habit Annuals or perennials; (short-lived); glabrous throughout. Perennials; usually sparsely pubescent, sometimes glabrous.
Rhizomes

cylindrical, slender, 0.5–1.5 mm diam.

(tuberiform, fragile), moniliform, segments fusiform, 2–10(–20) mm diam. (fleshy).

Stems

(simple from base), erect, (not flexuous), unbranched or branched basally, 0.6–3 dm.

erect, unbranched, (1–)2–4(–5.5) dm, glabrous or pubescent distally.

Basal leaves

rosulate or not, 3 or 5-foliolate, 1–6 cm, leaflets petiolulate;

petiole 0.4–2.5 cm;

lateral leaflets similar to terminal, considerably smaller;

terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.1–0.4 cm), blade obovate to orbicular or subcordate, 0.3–1.5(–2.0) cm × 2.5–16(–18) mm, base obtuse to rounded or cordate, margins entire or dentate to slightly sinuately lobed.

Rhizomal leaves

3-foliolate, (7–)10–20(–30) cm, leaflets sessile;

petiole (4–)7–18(–25) cm;

lateral leaflets similar to terminal, blade sometimes smaller;

terminal leaflet blade oblong, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or linear, 2.5–6 cm, base cuneate, margins coarsely dentate to incised, laciniate, or 3-lobed (lobes usually toothed to incised, rarely entire, surfaces puberulent or not, trichomes 0.2–0.3 mm).

Cauline leaves

2–4, 3 or 5-foliolate, blade similar to basal, gradually reduced in size as bract, distalmost ones subtending pedicels of flowers (usually simple);

leaflet blade or bract linear to linear-oblanceolate, 0.2–0.8 cm.

(2 or) 3, 3-foliolate (usually whorled or opposite, rarely alternate, similar in morphology to rhizomal leaves), petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole (1–)1.5–6(–7.5) cm, base not auriculate;

lateral leaflets sessile, blade similar to terminal, sometimes smaller;

terminal leaflet subsessile or petiolulate (to 3 cm), blade lanceolate, linear, or oblanceolate, (3–)4–10(–12) cm × (3–)5–20(–25) mm, margins usually coarsely dentate to incised, rarely subentire (margins minutely puberulent).

Racemes

bracteate throughout.

ebracteate.

Flowers

sepals oblong, (2–)3 × 0.7(–1) mm, lateral pair not saccate basally;

petals purple or pink, obovate, 6–9 × 3–4 mm, (not clawed);

filaments: median pairs 3–3.5 mm, lateral pair 2–2.5 mm;

anthers oblong, 0.7–1 mm.

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

petals white to pale pink, oblanceolate, (8–)10–20 × (3–)4–7(–9) mm, (short-clawed, apex rounded);

filaments: median pairs 8–12 mm, lateral pair 6–8 mm;

anthers oblong-linear, 1.5–2.5 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

divaricate-ascending, (10–)15–30(–45) mm.

ascending to divaricate, (6–)10–27(–33) mm.

Fruits

linear, (torulose), 2–3 cm × 1–1.5 mm;

ovules 14–20 per ovary;

style 2–4 mm.

linear-lanceolate, (2–)2.5–3.8(–4.8) cm × 1.5–3 mm; (valves glabrous or sparsely pubescent);

ovules 10–14 per ovary;

style (2–)5–9(–12) mm.

Seeds

brown, oblong to ovoid, 1.7–2.2 × 1–1.5 mm, (winged distally).

brown, oblong, 1.6–3 × 1.8–2 mm.

2n

= 128–256.

Cardamine pattersonii

Cardamine concatenata

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat Moist mossy cliffs, rocky slopes, mossy banks Wooded bottoms and bluffs, rich woods, limestone cliffs and outcrops, rocky banks, mesic forests, moist areas with leaf litter, floodplain woods
Elevation 800-900 m (2600-3000 ft) 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Cardamine pattersonii is known from Saddle Mountain and Onion Peak in Clastop County.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 480. FNA vol. 7, p. 470.
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. cordifolia, 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. 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. constancei, C. cordifolia, 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
Synonyms Dentaria concatenata, C. laciniata var. integra, C. laciniata var. lasiocarpa, Dentaria laciniata, Dentaria laciniata var. alterna, Dentaria laciniata var. coalescens, Dentaria laciniata var. integra, Dentaria laciniata var. latifolia, Dentaria laciniata var. opposita
Name authority L. F. Henderson: Rhodora 32: 25. (1930) (Michaux) O. Schwarz: Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 46: 188. (1939)
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