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Cardamine penduliflora

wetlands bitter-cress, Willamette Valley bitter-cress

Habit Perennials; glabrous throughout. Perennials; usually glabrous throughout, rarely pilose.
Rhizomes

(tuberiform, fragile), 4–9(–11) mm diam., (fleshy).

cylindrical, slender, 0.7–1.5 mm diam.

Stems

erect or decumbent at base, unbranched, 2–6(–7.5) dm.

erect or ascending, unbranched, 0.5–2(–2.5) dm.

Rhizomal leaves

5–13-foliolate, (4–)10–18(–25) cm, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole (3–)5–12(–17) cm;

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

terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.4–0.7 cm), blade oblong to elliptic or ovate, (0.4–)0.7–1.7(–2) cm, base cuneate or obtuse, margins entire or obscurely 3-lobed.

pinnately 5- or 7-foliolate, 2.5–12 cm (not fleshy), leaflets petiolulate;

petiole 1.5–4(–9) cm;

lateral leaflets similar to terminal, or smaller and margins usually toothed, rarely entire;

terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.15–0.3 cm) blade suborbicular to broadly obovate, 0.4–1.5 cm × 2.5–14 mm, base obtuse to subcordate, margins 3–5-toothed, (apiculate).

Cauline leaves

2–6, 5–11-foliolate, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or sessile;

petiole 3–10 cm, base not auriculate;

lateral leaflets sessile, blade similar to terminal, smaller;

terminal leaflet (petiolule 0.5–1.5 cm), blade narrowly ovate or oblong to oblanceolate, 1.5–3.5 cm × 2–15 mm, margins entire or toothed to 3-lobed.

1–3, (3–)5-foliolate (alternate), petiolate, leaflets petiolulate or subsessile;

petiole 0.2–2(–6.5) cm, base not auriculate;

lateral leaflets similar to terminal;

terminal leaflet subsessile or petiolulate (to 0.2 cm), blade obovate to oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 cm × 3–10 mm, base cuneate, margins 3-toothed or entire.

Racemes

ebracteate.

ebracteate.

Flowers

sepals oblong to ovate, 3.5–5 × 1.8–2.5 mm, lateral pair saccate basally;

petals white, obovate, 12–16 × 6–8 mm, (not clawed, apex rounded or subemarginate);

filaments: median pairs 6–7 mm, lateral pair 4–5 mm;

anthers oblong, 1.5–1.8 mm.

sepals oblong, 2–3.5 × 2–2.5 mm, lateral pair slightly saccate basally;

petals white, broadly obovate, 7–10 × 3–6 mm (clawed, apex rounded);

filaments: median pairs 3–4 mm, lateral pair 2–3 mm;

anthers oblong, 1–1.5 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

ascending to divaricate, (10–)20–40(–60) mm.

erect to ascending, 0.7–22 mm.

Fruits

linear, 2.5–4.5 cm × 1.4–2 mm;

ovules 12–24 per ovary;

style 4–6 mm.

linear, 1.6–4 cm × 1–1.3 mm;

ovules 14–24 per ovary;

style 0.7–3 mm.

Seeds

brown, oblong, 1.8–2 × 1–1.5 mm.

brown, oblong, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm.

2n

= 28, 42.

Cardamine penduliflora

Cardamine blaisdellii

Phenology Flowering Mar–May. Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Shallow pools, wet grounds, marshes, meadows, creeks, channels, swampy woods Moist streamsides, meadows, river gravel, mesic grounds, wet tundra, moist humus, scree slopes, calcareous fellfields
Elevation 50-150 m (200-500 ft) 50-1000 m (200-3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; n Europe; e Europe (Russian Far East, Siberia)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cardamine penduliflora is known from Douglas County north into Benton, Lane, Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties.

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

Cardamine blaisdellii was treated by R. C. Rollins (1993) as a synonym of C. microphylla, but the morphological differences (see key) and molecular data (R. B. Jørgensen et al., 2008) clearly demonstrate that they are distinct.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 481. FNA vol. 7, p. 468.
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. pattersonii, C. pensylvanica, C. pratensis, C. purpurea, C. rotundifolia, C. rupicola, C. umbellata
C. angulata, C. angustata, C. bellidifolia, 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. pattersonii, C. penduliflora, C. pensylvanica, C. pratensis, C. purpurea, C. rotundifolia, C. rupicola, C. umbellata
Synonyms C. rariflora C. microphylla subsp. blaisdellii, C. microphylla var. blaisdellii
Name authority O. E. Schulz: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 32: 538. (1903) Eastwood: Bot. Gaz. 33: 146. (1902)
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