山芥碎米荠 shan jie sui mi ji

Cardamine griffithii var. pentaloba W. T. Wang.

Herbs perennial, (20-)30-100(-115) cm tall, glabrous throughout except for leaflet margin. Rhizomes creeping, without stolons. Stems erect, simple or branched above, striate angled, (9-)12-28(-37)-leaved. Leaves sessile, cauline; lower and middle ones (1-)2-9(-11) × (0.7-)1-3.5(-4.5) cm; terminal leaflet orbicular, broadly ovate, or obovate, (0.5-)1-3(-3.5) × (0.3-)0.6-1.9(-2.5) cm, with a petiolule 2-10(-15) mm, base subcordate, rounded, or rarely cuneate, margin repand or entire and sparsely ciliate, apex obtuse or rounded; lateral leaflets 2-4(or 5) pairs, slightly to distinctly smaller than terminal one, base obtuse or rarely slightly oblique, margin entire or repand and sparsely ciliate, apex obtuse or rounded; proximal pair of lateral leaflets auriclelike, attached at or just above node, often giving appearance of amplexicaul leaf base. Uppermost leaves smaller. Fruiting pedicels ascending or divaricate, (0.4-)0.7-1.5 cm, slender, straight. Sepals ovate or oblong, 2.5-3 × 1.5-2 mm, erect. Petals purple or lavender, spatulate or obovate, 6-9 × (2.5-)3-5 mm, not clawed, apex rounded or subemarginate. Staminal filaments erect, median pairs 3.5-4.5 mm, lateral pair 2.5-3 mm; anthers oblong, 0.9-1.1 mm. Ovules 10-22 per ovary. Fruit linear, (1.5-)2-4 cm × 0.9-1.2 mm; gynophore 0.5-1 mm; valves smooth, glabrous; style 0.5-1(-2) mm; stigma 2-lobed, distinctly broader than style. Seeds brown, oblong, 1.4-1.7 × 0.8-1.1 mm, wingless. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jun-Sep.

Mountain slopes, valleys, streamsides, pastures, marshy places, moist forest floor, shady rocky areas; 2400-4500 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sikkim].

Records in FRPS and Fl. Guizhou. (7: 5. 1989) of Cardamine griffithii from Guizhou, Hubei, and Hunan are very likely based on misidentified plants of C. hygrophila. Although the present authors have not seen the type of C. griffithii var. pentaloba, it is very likely that this plant is only a minor variant of the species. Five-lobed terminal leaflets occur sporadically throughout the range of the species. However, if the type of this variety has terete, pilose stems, then it is C. hygrophila, and the type collection will represent a new record for Yunnan.