PYRENEAN SCURVYGRASS

Cochlearia pyrenaica

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]

month8apr month8april month8may month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug

status
statusZnative		 flower
flower8white		 inner
inner8yellow		 morph
morph8actino		 petals
petalsZ4		 type
typeZclustered		 stem
stem8round		 stem
stem8ribbed		 rarity
rarityZscarce		 sex
sexZbisexual

17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
Top Left in the bed of a beck, out of the flow unless it rains heavily. The leaves at bottom right are those of the similarly (not identically) shaped, but larger Lesser Celandine which is yet to flower up here.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
There are two sub-species of Pyrenean Scurvygrass, ssp. alpina often with succulent leaves and ssp. pyrenaica which does not have succulent leaves but rather quite thin instead. With succulent leaves your Author therefore believes these photos to be of the former, ssp. alpina. (There are still some of the larger Lesser Celandine leaves lurking in this photo).


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
It is procumbent, to erect with stems up to 30cm.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
The upper stem leaves are only slightly, if at all, clasping the stem and often of rhombic outline with 4 flats (apart from the rounded cordate base).


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
Two sets of as-yet un-opened flower buds, and several opened flowers.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
Flowers with 4 white petals, 6 stamens with creamy-yellow anthers and a central but shorter style.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
The central style is small and discoidal.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
The leaves on a young plant.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
Stems have a central longitudinal groove.


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
Upper stem leaves not clasping the stems


17th April 2016, bed of Horton Beck, Horton in Ribblesdale, Yorks Dales. Photo: © RWD
Lower stem leaves are on stalks.

Easily mis-identified as : Common Scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis)but that has larger flowers (10-15mm across - as opposed to 5-8mm across for Pyrenean) and with leaves which clasp the stem

Possibly hybridizes with : Common Scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis) but only known from Argyll in 1893. Pyrenean Scurvygrass exists as two sub-species:

  • Pyrenean Scurvygrass (Cochlearia pyrenaica ssp. pyrenaica) which usually has thinner leaves which are not succulent and is found between Derbyshire up through to Cumberland. [RR]
  • Pyrenean Scurvygrass (Cochlearia pyrenaica ssp. alpina) which usually has fleshy succulent leaves and is found in North Somerset, North Wales, West Ireland and the mountains of Scotland. [RR]

It grows in bareishly damp places mostly on basic-rich soils in flushes and also on limestone rocks and spoil-heaps in the upland areas. Often to be found near or beside streams, where indeed the above specimen was found.


USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON CATERPILLAR CHRYSALIS BUTTERFLY
✓
Orange-tip


  Cochlearia pyrenaica  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Brassicaceae  

Distribution
family8Cabbage family8Brassicaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Cochlearia
Cochlearia
(Scurvygrasses)

PYRENEAN SCURVYGRASS

Cochlearia pyrenaica

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]