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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE MUSTARD FAMILY | |||||||||
| The mustard family can easily be
identified by the fruit types. In this family the fruit types are the silicle
and the silique. Both fruit types split open along two lines and have a
membranous partition in the center to which the seeds attach. The silicle
is long and thin, while the silicle is short and wide. The mustard family
can also be identified by the flowers. The flowers have four separate sepals
and four clawed petals arranged in a cross shape. There are four long stamens
and two short stamens. The mustard family is well known in Saskatchewan. Many people farm canola as a crop. Also, many vegetables we consume in North America come from this family including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts. |
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| BLUNTLEAF YELLOWCRESS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Rorippa curvipes var. truncata | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Bluntleaf yellowcress is an annual plant that grows 10 – 40 cm tall. Several branched, hairless stems are tufted from the taproot. The basal leaves grade into the alternate, short-stalked stem leaves. All of the leaves are lobed, with the terminal lobe large and oval shaped. Each of the lobes can be smooth-edged or toothed. The leaves have translucent ridges on the midrib. The sepals and petals are about the same length. The petals are whitish. The silique is 3.5 to 5.5 mm long and is about 2 to 4 times longer than wide. The fruit is cylinder-shaped and is constricted at the center. The fruit is hairless and contains 30 to 80 seeds. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Bluntleaf yellowcress grows in non-alkaline, drying mudflats and the edges of sloughs in sandy or clay soil. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland and Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Bluntleaf yellowcress is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. This species is regionally restricted to one area of the province and the populations are sparse and scattered. The occurrence of this species in Saskatchewan may represent a northward range expansion. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY BLUNTLEAF YELLOWCRESS | |||||||||
| * Are the sepals and petals about the same length? * Are the four petals in cross-shaped? * Are the terminal lobes of the leaves oval shaped? * Did you find it in southern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found bluntleaf yellowcress! | |||||||||
