E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Rorippa sylvestris (L.) Besser
creeping yellow cress (creeping yellowcress)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Robert Flogaus-Faust  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #29223)

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Distribution of Rorippa sylvestris
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from slender rhizomes, often mat-forming; stems nearly erect to decumbent, 15-60 cm tall, usually branching from base, nearly glabrous.
Leaves:
Basal leaves in rosettes, these disappearing after the first year; stem leaves egg-shaped or oblong-oblanceolate to oblong egg-shaped, 4-10 cm long, deeply lobed to pinnately-cut, the divisions narrow, incised or sharply toothed to entire, slender-stalked.
Flowers:
Racemes numerous, dense and short; flower stalks spreading to ascending, (3) 6-12 mm long; petals yellow, 3-5 mm long; sepals 2-3 mm long, deciduous shortly after anthesis, the outer pair not pouched at base.
Fruits:
Siliques, linear, often curved upward, 1-2 cm long, 1-2 mm wide; beaks 0.5-1 mm long; seeds reddish-brown, 0.6-0.8 mm long, finely honeycombed, not margined.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Indeterminate
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Lawns, waste places and fields in the lowland and montane zones; frequent on S Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and adjacent mainland, rare eastward and northward; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Rorippa sylvestris

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 700 844 970
Slope Gradient (%) 0 11 48
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
180 219 258
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 5 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
5
Modal BEC Zone Class
SBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: ICH(1), IDF(1), PP(1), SBS(2)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Radicula sylvestris (L.) Druce

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References