Rorippa palustris (L.) Besser

Marsh Yellow Cress

© DETenaglia

Family - Brassicaceae

Stems - No info. yet.

Leaves - No info. yet.

	Pressed leaves.
© DETenaglia

Inflorescence - No info. yet.

© DETenaglia

Flowers - No info. yet.

© DETenaglia

© DETenaglia

© DETenaglia

Flowering - May - October.

Habitat - Wet soils, oxbow lake margins, river bottoms, sloughs, ditches, wet woods, railroads.

Origin - Native to the U.S., also in Eurasia and Greenland.

Other info. - This species is very common in Missouri, being found along almost every river and ditch. The plant can be distinguished from other members in the genus by its showy flower petals, rhizomes, and lyrate pinnatifid leaves (which are serrate on the margins). Other members of the genus have small flowers which are not well developed.

An older name for the plant is R. islandica. Steyermark divided the species into three varieties based on leaf morphology, whereas some other authors elevate these varieties to the species level. Missouri plants have been called R. palustris (L.) Besser var. fernaldiana.

Photographs taken along the shores of the Neusse River, Kingston, NC., 7-16-02.