This is another flower from the Colville River, North Slope, Alaska. I thought I was taking a picture of a Parry's Wallflower, but those have 5 pedals and this one only has 4. That makes it a possible member of the Mustard family. At this point I became ver confused and lost. Could someone help point me in a direction? Thank you. Dickiie Byrd
Looks like a species of Cardamine to me. Wallflowers (Cheiranthus, Erysimum) also have four petals, but don't have the pinnate leaves your plant shows.
Thank you a whole lot, Michael. I did some research on Cardamine and found we have 9 species growing in Alaska. Only two of those 9 occure in the Arctic Region, C. bellidifolia and C. pratensis. C. Bellidifolia does not have the narrow leaves. On the other hand, C. Pratensis does have the narrow leaves but the basal leaves are broader. (The basal leaves can be seen on the left side of the plant.) The flowers can be white, pink or purple. I have often seen this flower, (paid no attention to the leaves), in white and locally it is called Cuckoo Flower. The color and not knowing the leaves threw me off. I was correct in it belonging to the Mustard family, but then just a guess gives one a high chance of being right with that family. (grin) Dickie
