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Cardamine pattersonii

Saddle Mountain bitter-cress

largeseed bittercress

Habit Annuals or perennials; (short-lived); glabrous throughout. Annuals; glabrous or sparsely puberulent.
Rhizomes

cylindrical, slender, 0.5–1.5 mm diam.

absent.

Stems

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

(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.

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.

(soon withered), not rosulate.

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.

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.

Racemes

bracteate throughout.

ebracteate, (rachis slightly to strongly flexuous or geniculate).

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, 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.

Fruiting pedicels

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

horizontal to divaricate or ascending, (3–)4–9(–12) mm.

Fruits

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

ovules 14–20 per ovary;

style 2–4 mm.

linear, (2.5–)3–4.6 cm × 1.7–2.1 mm;

ovules 14–22 per ovary;

style 1–3 mm.

Seeds

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

dark brown, oblong, 2–2.5 × 0.9–1.2 mm.

Cardamine pattersonii

Cardamine macrocarpa

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Mar–Sep.
Habitat Moist mossy cliffs, rocky slopes, mossy banks Rock crevices and ledges, gravel bars of mountain streams, moist rocky stream banks, shaded loamy forest floors
Elevation 800-900 m (2600-3000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León)
[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.)

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.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 480. FNA vol. 7, p. 476.
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. 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. 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 C. macrocarpa var. texana
Name authority L. F. Henderson: Rhodora 32: 25. (1930) Brandegee: Zoë 5: 233. (1906)
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