Cardamine subcarnosa

Detailed description

Perennial herb, caespitose, forming an open rosette. Leaves pinnate, up to 100(–140) mm long, green, subcoriaceous, lamina and petiole margins sparsely ciliate, glabrate, or occasionally glabrous; petiole 20–60 mm long, 1.5–6.0 mm wide, winged and sheathing at base. Leaflets 5–7, usually in pairs although proximal leaflets occ. alternate, usually not overlapping except occasionally the uppermost pair and the terminal, hydathodes inconspicuous to prominent, margin entire, apex obtuse to rounded, base cuneate, obtuse or ± truncate; terminal leaflet lamina 5–25 × 5–20 mm, orbicular to broadly elliptic, with inconspicuous lateral lobes or shallowly toothed; lateral leaflet lamina 3–22 × 2.5–12 mm, broadly elliptic, elliptic to obovate, shallowly toothed or entire; petiolules up to 10 mm long, although sometimes ± absent. Cauline leaves subtending pedicels, although sometimes absent on upper pedicels; lower leaves similar to rosette leaves, but with fewer and narrower leaflets, becoming smaller in all parts; upper leaves 1.7–6.5 × 0.3–0.9 mm, increasingly linear, simple. Inflorescence 50–150(–300) mm long, 1.2–1.6 mm diam. at base, glabrous, usually elongating after flowering, upright to ascending, racemose, flowers distant in upper half. Pedicels 2.0–12 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm diam, erecto-patent to spreading. Sepals 1.3–2.4 × 0.5–1.2 mm, oblong to elliptic, glabrous, green or purple, margin white and membranous, apex obtuse to rounded, base truncate. Petals 2.2–4.7 × 0.6–1.3 mm, white, pink or purple, usually purple veined, limb obovate; apex obtuse to rounded; base cuneate to attenuate, tapering to a ± indistinct claw, claw up to 0.5 mm long. Filaments 6, 1.5–2.5 mm long; anthers 0.3–0.4 mm long. Ovary 3.2–3.5 mm long, 0.5–0.7 mm diam., terete, glabrous; stigma 0.3–0.5 mm diam. Siliques 9–20 × 0.9–1.3 mm, not crowded, erecto-patent to spreading, beak 1.0–1.4 mm long; replum 0.3–0.4 mm wide; septum with a weak central vein or vein absent. Seeds 0.8–1.4 mm long, 0.5–0.9 mm wide, 0.3–0.5 mm thick, rounded or oblong, red-brown.