Barbarea orthoceras Ledeb.
American winter cress (American yellowrocket)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
American winter cress (American yellowrocket)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Biennial (occasionally perennial) from a taproot and a simple stem-base; stems stiff, erect, angled, branched, (10) 20-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves pinnately lobed, long-stalked, less than 12 cm long, with 1-5 pairs of lateral lobes, terminal lobe largest, egg-shaped and entire or irregularly toothed; stalks and sometimes leaflets long-fringed or sparsely short-hairy; lowermost stem leaves with 2-10 pairs of lateral lobes, upper pinnately cleft with the terminal lobe the largest, often clasping the stems.
Flowers:
In single and terminal racemes or more often in compound, reduced racemes in lower leaf axils; flower stalks not stout, less than 1 mm thick, 2-3 mm long; petals pale yellow, broadly spoon-shaped, 3-5 mm long; sepals pale yellow-green, about 2 mm long.
Fruits:
Erect to spreading-ascending siliques, (1.5) 2.5-5 cm long, straight; styles 0.5-1.5 mm long, not beaklike; seeds in 1 row, finely pitted, about 1.5 mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Barbarea orthoceras
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
587 | 61 | 1044 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
12 | 0 | 100 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
195 | 171 | 240 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 5 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
8 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BWBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), BWBS(2), CDF(1), CWH(1), PP(1), SBS(1), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist streambanks, meadows and forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common along the coast, less frequent elsewhere in BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF, and S to MN, NH, CO, AZ and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Barbarea americana Rydb.
Barbarea orthoceras var. dolichocarpa Fernald