BERBERIDACEAE -- Barberry Family - New Mexico Flores

Scientific Name:
Rorippa sinuata
Size:
10 - 50 cm
BRASSICACEAE -- Mustard Family
Description:
Perennial herb, stems few to numerous,
reclining, glabrous or with short puffy hairs.
Leaves alternate, oblong to oblanceolate, 3 - 8
cm long, 5 - 15 mm wide, edges wavy to
pinnatifid, glabrous above, with some short,
puffy hairs below. Lower leaves with petioles,
middle and upper sessile, sometimes with bases
wrapping the stem. Flowers perfect, on stalks,
in clusters from leaf axils, elongating in fruit.
Sepals 4, 2.5 - 4.5 mm long. Petals 4, 3 - 6 mm
long, tapering to the base. Stamens 6, 4 equal, 2
shorter. Fruit a cylindrical pod, 6 – 12mm long,
1 - 2 mm wide, glabrous or hairy, with a stubby
style.
163
Common Name:
Spreading yellowcress
Color:
Yellow
Notes:
Spreading yellowcress is occasional in the
Manzanos. It prefers moist areas along streams.
The plants are generally spindly, lying on the
ground or draped among other plants. Its
“miniature frankfurter” pods and incised leaves
help in identification. It blooms from May into
July between 5000 and 8000 ft.
New Mexico Native