Cardamine lilacina
Hook.Glabrous perennial to 50 cm high; taproot persisting, rootstock gradually elongating with age and commonly branching; flowering stems mostly erect, sometimes trailing. Leaves thin to somewhat fleshy; basal leaves numerous, rosetted, 5–15(–25) cm long, mostly pinnate with 1–4 lateral pinna pairs, terminal pinna orbicular, usually strongly cordate-based, crenate or sometimes dentate, lateral pinnae short to long-petiolulate, more or less orbicular; cauline leaves 0–6, to 10 cm long, variably reducing in size up the stem, pinnate or pinnately divided. Raceme usually many-flowered; sepals 2–4 mm long; petals 4.5–12 mm long, white or pink; mature style to 4 mm. Fruits erect to spreading, 10–50 mm long, 1.5–3 mm wide; pedicels 10–25 mm long; seeds 1.5–3 mm long. Flowers spring–autumn.
VVP, GipP, CVU, EGU, HSF, HNF, MonT, VAlp. Also NSW, ACT, Tas. Probably a complex of species occurring in lower altitude forests, subalpine woodland and various alpine habitats.
This complex is united by having large seeds, a basal rosette of leaves and a gradually elongating and usually branching perennial rootstock. In Victoria, there are few collections from lower altitudes (e.g. Portland, Ballarat, Daylesford, Yarra Valley, Traralgon) and their affinity with higher altitude variants is uncertain. In alpine and subalpine regions, plants are broader-fruited, larger-seeded and produce more cauline leaves than the type of Cardamine lilacina. Most populations (e.g. Falls Creek area, Mt Buffalo) have petals 5–7 mm long, seeds c. 2 mm long and grow to 30 cm high. A variant from Mt Higginbotham and Mt Buller has petals 7–10 mm long, seeds to 3 mm long, often produces a clump with numerous stems, and can be up to 50 cm high. Further study is required to assess the status of these entities.
There is some evidence of hybridization between C. lilacina and C. astoniae.
Thompson, I.R. (1996). Cardamine. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 434–442. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
