HUTCHINSIA

Hornungia petraea

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]

month8mar month8march month8apr month8april month8may

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

19th April 2015, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower Peninsula, S. Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
A short-lived annual plant which flowers early in the year, starting in March or so. Here in mid April already going to seed. These specimens on the sandy shore. "#There's Always Something There To remind Me".


19th April 2015, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower Peninsula, S. Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
It grows up to 10cm high, sometimes up to 15cm. [The much larger green leaves at bottom right corner are of a differing plant].


19th April 2015, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower Peninsula, S. Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


19th April 2015, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower Peninsula, S. Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


19th April 2015, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower Peninsula, S. Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Only the summit of the flowering stem still has opened flowers, the rest lower down have turned to seed pods. The pods usually contain but one seed but can sometimes have two seeds.


22nd April 2016, Whiteford Burrows, The Gower, Wales. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The leaves are deeply lobed and pinnate in form (also very small - there is one near the bottom just right of centre)


22nd April 2016, Whiteford Burrows, The Gower, Wales. Photo: © Dawn Nelson


22nd April 2016, Whiteford Burrows, The Gower, Wales. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The ripe fruits (on the periphery of the flower head) are less than three times as long as they are wide. There seem to be 6 small cream coloured anthers on white filaments. Some of the flowers in the centre are still in the bud stage yet to open whereas those on the periphery have already opened and turned to fruit. They still have the small white discoidal stigma attached at their tips.


15th May 2015, Whiteford Burrows, The Gower, Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The petals are narrow with a slight round widening at their end and are a tiny 0.5 to 1mm long - only just longer than the 4 green sepals immediately beneath them. In this example the seed pods just above the centre of the petals are long but not yet very oval in shape.


22nd April 2016, Whiteford Burrows, The Gower, Wales. Photo: © Dawn Nelson
The hairs on the stems are stellate (meaning they have a tiny ~±star shaped cross at their tip). The fruits 1.8 to 3 mm long by 1 to 1.7mm wide and flat(ish) on upwardly-directed pedicels (stalks) which are between 2 to 6mm long. The remnants of a white petal cling to the fruit on the far right.


19th April 2015, Nicholaston Burrows, Gower Peninsula, S. Wales. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


The botanical genus (Hornungia) should not to be semantically confused with : Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Horned Mustard (Sisymbrium polyceratium), Horned Pondweed (Zannichellia palustris) or Horned Pansy (Viola cornuta) [plants with similar names belonging to differing families]

Some similarities to : Shepherd's Cress (Teesdalia nudicaulis) but that can grow taller (up to 25cm as opposed to 10-15cm for Hutchinsia) and starts to flower slightly later (in April rather than March) but the flattened discoidal fruits have a notch at top-dead-centre.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature : The remarkable shortness of the plant (<15cm) and the shape of the fruits. Also, the tiny leaves are single-pinnate (as they are also on Shepherd's Cress).

It is a rare [RR] growing in only a smattering of locations in England. There are gatherings in North East Cumbria, Sunbiggin, Chesterfield and Ashbourne areas of The Peak District, Llangollen area, Colwyn Bay area, Pembrokeshire coast, Llanelli to Porthcawl coastal area, Monmouth, Bristol and very little elsewhere! That's shallot!... There are none near your Author (according to BSBI).


  Hornungia petraea  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Brassicaceae  

Distribution
 family8Cabbage family8Brassicaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Hornungia
Hornungia
(Hutchinsia)

HUTCHINSIA

Hornungia petraea

Cabbage Family [Brassicaceae]