Cardamine pratensis

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Perennial; rhizome usually short and non-stoloniferous; stem usually erect, simple, glabrous. Basal leaves usually forming a rosette, with 2-8 pairs of ovate to orbicular or reniform, sessile or shortly stalked lateral leaflets and a larger or equal terminal leaflet, sparsely hairy, rough-surfaced, often bearing adventitious shoots; cauline leaves 2-18, pinnatisect or pinnate, with roundish, ovate, lanceolate to linear leaflets or segments, usually glabrous; leaves usually dull or grey-green. Sepals 2·2-6·0 mm; petals 5-16 x 2·5-10 mm, emarginate to rounded, white, lilac or purple. Siliqua 10-50 x 0·5-2 mm; style short, 0·25-0·8 mm wide, flattened, not attenuate; stigma conspicuous, enlarged. Almost throughout Europe.

A variable species that can be divided into a number of subspecies, many of them treated at specific rank by some authors. The following treatment is provisional.

1 Rhizome stoloniferous; stem ascending; basal leaflets not in a rosette . subsp. crassifolia

1 Rhizome not stoloniferous; stem erect; basal leaves in a rosette

2 Leaves thick, with impressed veins ........................ subsp. polemonioides

2 Leaves thin, with raised veins

3 Ends of some roots tuberous; basal leaves simple or with 3-5 leaflets....... subsp. granulosa

3 Ends of roots not tuberous; basal leaves mostly with more than 5 leaflets

4 All cauline leaves pinnate, leaflets distinctly stalked ...... subsp. dentata

4 At least upper cauline leaves pinnatisect

5 At least some basal leaves hairy

6 Hairs on rhachis of basal leaves patent ................ subsp. pratensis

6 Hairs on rhachis of basal leaves appressed

7 Flowers white or pale lilac; anthers yellow before dehiscence . subsp. matthioli

7 Flowers purple; anthers purplish before dehiscence ....... subsp. rivularis

5 All basal leaves glabrous

8 Lower segments of mid-cauline leaves somewhat deflexed ... subsp. matthioli

8 Lower segments of mid-cauline leaves slightly ascending

9 Terminal leaflet of basal leaves approximately the same size as lateral ones; anthers purplish before dehiscence ............ subsp. rivularis

9 Terminal leaflet of basal leaves distinctly larger than lateral ones; anthers yellow before dehiscence ................. subsp. pratensis