Cardamine rotundifolia |
Cardamine parviflora |
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American bittercress, mountain watercress |
narrow-leaf bitter-cress, sand bitter-cress, small-flower bitter-cress |
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Habit | Perennials; glabrous throughout. | Annuals; (slender); glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent throughout. |
Rhizomes | slender, to 2 mm diam. |
absent. |
Stems | usually procumbent, sometimes erect, (not flexuous), unbranched or branched, (1–)1.5–3(–5) dm. |
(simple or few to several from base), erect, (somewhat flexuous), often branched distally, (0.5–)1–3(–4) dm. |
Basal leaves | (soon withered), not rosulate. |
(often withered by anthesis), usually not rosulate, pinnately (5 or) 7–13(–17)-foliolate, (2–)4–10cm, leaflets sessile or petiolulate; petiole 0.5–2.5(–4.5) cm; lateral leaflets similar to terminal, sometimes smaller; terminal leaflet (sessile or petiolule to 0.5 cm), blade linear to oblong, oblanceolate to obovate, or suborbicular, (0.1–)0.3–1 cm × 1–7 mm, base cuneate, margins entire or 3(–5)-toothed or -lobed. |
Rhizomal leaves | absent. |
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Cauline leaves | simple, petiolate; petiole (0.3–)0.5–2.5(–4) cm, base not auriculate; blade oblong, ovate, suborbicular, or cordate, (0.5–)1–4.5(–5.5) cm × (5–)10–40(–54) mm, base cordate, rounded, or truncate, margins entire, repand, or sinuate, (distally with shorter petiole, blade smaller). |
5–10(–14), (5–)9–15(–17)-foliolate, petiolate, leaflets sessile; petiole 0.3–1 cm, base not auriculate; lateral leaflets similar to terminal, sometimes smaller; terminal leaflet blade filiform, linear, or narrowly oblong, 0.3–1(–1.6) cm × 0.3–3 mm, margins usually entire, rarely 1–3-toothed. |
Racemes | ebracteate. |
ebracteate. |
Flowers | sepals oblong, 2–3 × 1–1.7 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally; petals white, broadly oblanceolate, spreading, 5–7(–8) × 2–3 mm, (not clawed, apex rounded); filaments: median pairs 3.5–4.5 mm, lateral pair 2.7–3.5 mm; anthers oblong, 0.8–1.2 mm. |
sepals oblong, 1–1.5(–2) × 0.3–0.5 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally, (margins membranous); petals white, oblanceolate, (1.5–)1.8–2.5(–3) × 0.4–0.8(–1) mm; filaments 1.4–2.5 mm; anthers ovate, 0.2–0.4 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | divaricate to ascending, (6–)10–15(–20) mm. |
divaricate or ascending, 4–10 mm. |
Fruits | linear, (torulose), 1–1.5(–2) cm × 0.8–1.1 mm; ovules 40–80 per ovary; style 1.5–2.5 mm. |
linear, (torulose), (0.5–)1–2(–2.5) cm × 0.6–0.9 mm; ovules 20–50 per ovary; style 0.3–0.7(–1) mm. |
Seeds | brown, oblong to ovoid, 0.9–1.1 × 0.5–0.6 mm. |
pale brown, oblong-ovoid, 0.6–0.9 × 0.4–0.6 mm, (narrowly margined or not). |
2n | = 16. |
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Cardamine rotundifolia |
Cardamine parviflora |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Mar–Jun. |
Habitat | Stream banks, swamps, low woodland, wet rocky areas, seepage areas | Roadsides, stream banks, rocky crests and outcrops, crevices of granitic bedrock, dry woods, glades, fallow fields, disturbed ground, limestone barrens, marsh and swamp margins, floodplains, waste ground, slopes, ledges, cliffs, meadows |
Elevation | 150-400 m (500-1300 ft) | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
DE; GA; KY; MD; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
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AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NT; ON; QC; SK; Eurasia
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Discussion | Within Cardamine parviflora, in the broad sense, two species or varieties have been recognized: the Eurasian C. parviflora (or C. parviflora var. parviflora) versus the North American C. arenicola (or C. parviflora var. arenicola). Nuclear DNA data suggested a sister relationship of the North American and Eurasian entities, while cpDNA data showed them intermingled (J. Lihová et al. 2006). There are no apparent morphological differences between these entities, although detailed morphological studies are still lacking. We currently prefer to treat them as a single taxon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 483. | FNA vol. 7, p. 480. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Dentaria rotundifolia | C. arenicola, C. flexuosa var. gracilis, C. parviflora var. arenicola |
Name authority | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 30. (1803) | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1131. (1759) |
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