Corydalis scouleri
Fumariaceae
Scouler's corydalis, Scouler's fumewort, western corydalis
fumitory family
1 or more, mostly 5-10 dm.
when present leafy, erect to prostrate or climbing, simple or branching.
ca. 3, compound, 10 cm or more;
blade with 3 orders of leaflets and lobes; ultimate lobes broadly elliptic or less commonly ovate to obovate with rounded apex, sometimes narrowly elliptic with acute apex, 1-8 × 0.5-4 cm, minutely apiculate.
basal and/or cauline, alternate, mostly compound, sometimes simple, without stipules, petiolate;
blade with 2-6 odd-pinnate orders of leaflets and/or lobes.
axillary or terminal, racemose or paniculate, 15-35-flowered on primary axis;
bracts inconspicuous, proximal bracts narrowly elliptic, distal linear and much reduced.
terminal, axillary, extra-axillary, or leaf-opposed, unifloral or else multifloral and thyrsoid, paniculate, racemose, or corymbose;
peduncles present;
bracts present.
erect;
pedicel 2-5 mm;
sepals caducous, ovate to broadly lanceolate, 1-2 mm, margins lacerate or dentate;
petals light to deep pink; spurred petal usually somewhat curved, 20-25 mm, spur lanceoloid, 14-20 mm, crest well developed, usually exceeding petal apices, marginal wing absent; unspurred outer petal boat-shaped, 12-15 mm;
inner petals not tipped deep red or purple, usually 9-11 mm, blade much wider at apex, claw slender, equaling blade in length; nectariferous spur 1/2-2/3 length of petal spur, bent or hooked at apex;
style ca. 3 mm;
stigma roughly triangular, with 2 apical and 2 lateral papillae.
bilaterally symmetric about 1 plane or each of 2 perpendicular planes;
pedicel present;
sepals caducous or persistent, 2, thin;
petals 4, distinct or coherent basally to almost completely connate, in 2 whorls of 2;
outer petals alike or dissimilar, 1 or both sometimes swollen or spurred basally;
inner petals alike, apically connate, clawed, with somewhat hollow, membranous, wrinkled, abaxial median crests;
stamens 6, in 2 bundles of 3 each, opposite outer petals;
filaments of each bundle partially to completely connate, sometimes basally adnate to petals, with basal nectariferous tissue often in form of spur;
anthers connivent, adhering to stigma, median anthers 2-locular, lateral anthers 1-locular;
pistil 1, 2-carpellate;
ovary 1-locular;
placentae parietal;
style threadlike, rigid;
stigma 1, compressed, with 2 lobes or apical horns, and/or 2-8 papillar stigmatic surfaces.
capsular, indehiscent or dehiscent and valvate.
reflexed, obovoid, 10-15 × 4-5 mm.
ca. 3.5 mm diam., with numerous small protuberances.
1-many, small, elaiosome (oil-bearing appendage) often present.
= ca. 130.
Corydalis scouleri
Fumariaceae
Corydalis scouleri is restricted to cool, wet habitats from northwestern Oregon northward to Vancouver Island. It is most easily distinguished from Corydalis caseana by the usually highly developed crests and absence of wings on its outer petals. The stigma is essentially triangular (versus rectangular in C. caseana), and the capsule shape (typically obovoid) is rarely approached in C. caseana.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Genera 19, species ca. 450 (4 genera, 23 species in the flora).
The genera of Fumariaceae are distributed mostly in the Old World and primarily in temperate Eurasia. One acaulescent species of Dicentra occurs in Siberia, Kamchatka, and Japan; a caulescent species is found in western China and northern Burma; and nine climbing species are distributed throughout the Himalayan area and Burma. More than 400 taxa of Corydalis and 50 of Fumaria, distributed primarily throughout temperate, often montane, regions of Eurasia and Africa, have been described. Adlumia comprises only two species, which are quite similar morphologically, one from North America and the other from East Asia.
Most European and some American systematists treat Fumariaceae as a subfamily of Papaveraceae. However, although a few taxa are morphologically intermediate, the members of Fumariaceae generally are quite distinct from those of Papaveraceae in several respects, including floral symmetry, sap character, and stamen number and fusion.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Petals almost completely connate, spongy; plants climbing, petiolules and reduced leaflets twining and tendril-like. | Adlumia |
1. Petals coherent or connate only basally, not spongy; plants not climbing. | → 2 |
2. Both outer petals swollen or spurred basally. | Dicentra |
2. Only 1 outer petal swollen or spurred basally. | → 3 |
3. Fruit an elongate, dehiscent capsule; seeds more than 1, with elaiosome. | Corydalis |
3. Fruit a ± globose, indehiscent capsule; seeds 1, without elaiosome. | Fumaria |
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
