Cardamine nuttallii
Encyclopedia
Cardamine nuttallii is a species of cardamine
known by the common name Nuttall's toothwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia
to California
, where it grows in moist mountain habitats.
Cardamine nuttallii is a perennial herb growing from a small, white rhizome
. It produces a thin, unbranching stem under 20 centimeters tall. The leaves are smooth or lobed along the edges and sometimes divided into a few smaller leaflets. The inflorescence
bears generally more than one pale purple, pink, or occasionally white flowers with petals each over a centimeter long. The fruit is a silique
up to 4 centimeters long.
.
Cardamine
Cardamine , is a large genus in the family Brassicaceae. It contains more than 150 species of annuals and perennials. The genus grows worldwide in diverse habitats, except in the Antarctic. Genus Dentaria is a synonym for Cardamine.The leaves can have different forms, going from minute to...
known by the common name Nuttall's toothwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in moist mountain habitats.
Cardamine nuttallii is a perennial herb growing from a small, white rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
. It produces a thin, unbranching stem under 20 centimeters tall. The leaves are smooth or lobed along the edges and sometimes divided into a few smaller leaflets. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears generally more than one pale purple, pink, or occasionally white flowers with petals each over a centimeter long. The fruit is a silique
Silique
A silique or siliqua is a fruit of 2 fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. The outer walls of the ovary usually separate when ripe, leaving a persistent partition...
up to 4 centimeters long.
Varieties
There are four varieties of this plant. The rare Cardamine nuttallii var. gemmata is endemic to the Sequoia sempervirens redwood forests of northern California and southern OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.