Erysimum pallasii (Pursh) Fernald
Arctic wallflower.
Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), Draba family.
Rhodora 27: 171. 1925
Cheiranthus pallasii Pursh (1814), Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 436.1914.
Cheiranthus pygmaeus Adams
Erysimum pygmaeus (Adams)
Gay
Hesperis pygmaeus (Adams) Hooker
Hesperis hookeri Ledeb.
Vegetative morphology. Plants low shrubs, or mid shrubs; 7–25 cm high; with basal rosette leaves for two to several years before they flower. Taproot present. Caudex present (usually swollen, but rarely branched). Aerial stems erect; not conspicuously jointed; sparsely hairy. Leaves in a basal tuft; alternate; simple; marcescent. Petioles absent. Leaf blade bases attenuate. Blades 20–30 mm long; 2–3 mm wide. Blades herbaceous; spatulate. Blades adaxial surface hairy. Blades adaxial surface hairs branched (bifurcate). Blades abaxial surface glabrous. Blade margins not lobed. Blade margins dentate, or entire; glabrous; with teeth toward the apex. Conspicuous hydathodes absent. Leaf apices acute.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems without leaves; hairy. Inflorescence racemose; main axis hairy. Pedicels present. Flowers per inflorescence 8–25; medium-sized, 5–15 mm in diameter or length; actinomorphic. Calyx sepals 4; free; 7.5–8.5 mm long. Calyx green and purple; herbaceous; hairy. Calyx hairs white or translucent. Petals free; longer than the calyx; 4; purple; without contrasting markings; obovate (with long claw); unlobed, or shallowly lobed; 12–15 mm long. Flowers bisexual. Stamens 6; filaments markedly unequal in length; free of the corolla; filaments glabrous. Anthers yellow; 1.8–2.2 mm long. Gynoecia superior. Carpels syncarpous; 2. Ovaries hairy. Ovary hairs straight. Styles 1; 0.4–0.6 mm long. Stigmas per style 1. Placentation parietal. Ovules 25–35. Fruit stalk 10–16 mm long. Fruit without calyx persisting; dry; a silique; elongate-cylindrical; dehiscent. Fruit 60–100 mm long; 2–3 mm wide; purple; hairy. Styles remaining straight; persisting in fruit 1.2–1.7 mm long. Seeds 25–35; 2.2–2.5 mm long; brown; with surfaces verrucose.
Chromosome information. 2n = 24, 28, 36, 42. 24
(4x, x = 6). - Packer (1964 northwestern Canada, 2n =
c.24); Mulligan (1966b Canada); Mosquin and Hayley (1966 northern Canada);
Krogulevich (1976 northern Siberia); Berkutenko and Gurzenkov (1976 north
eastern Asia); Yurtsev and Zhukova (1982 northern Siberia); Zhukova and
Petrovsky (1984 north and north eastern Asia; Berkutenko et al. (1984 north
eastern Asia).
c.28. - Holmen (1952 Greenland); Mulligan and Porsild
(1969 Yukon).
36 (6x, x = 6). - Rollins (1966 Alaska);
Zhukova (1966, 1968, north eastern Asia); Zhukova and Tikhonova (1971, 1973
Chuk); Zhukova et al. (1973, 1977 north eastern Asia); Petrovsky and Zhukova
(1981 Wrangel Island); Zhukova and Petrovsky (1984 north eastern Asia).
c.42. - Hedberg (1967 Alaska); Krogulevich (1976 northern Siberia).
Ploidy levels recorded 4x&6x&.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: circumpolar (almost, occuring from northern Greenland westward to North European Russia,); Greenland, Canada, United States, Eurasia, Siberia, Asia. Yukon, Northwest Territories Islands, Continental Northwest Territories, Nunavut Islands, Continental Nunavut, Northern Québec. Arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago widespread. Common. Arctic Islands: Baffin, Ellesmere, Axel Heiberg, Parry Islands, Banks, Victoria.
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: river terraces, slopes, ridges; imperfectly drained moist areas, or on seepage slopes, or moderately well drained areas; calcareous, or nitrophilous; gravel, sand, clay, till; with low organic content. Habitats: The flowers are very fragrant.
Notes. This species varies considerably in size depending upon its
habitat.
Erysimum pallasii is often found near bird-nesting areas,
where the soil is rich in calcium and nitrogenous compounds. It is a biennial or
short-lived perennial, and flowers only once in its lifetime (Burt 2000).
Illustrations. • Colour forms growing together. Adjacent plants, one with white the other with purple/pink flowers, growing in dry sandy gravel. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Aiken 99–055. CAN. Scale bar in cm. • Close-up of adjacent plants. Adjacent plants, one with white the other with purple flowers. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Aiken 99–055. CAN. Scale bar in cm. • Plant habitat. Isolated plants with purple flowers, growing in sandy gravel near the top of a pingo. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Aiken 99–055. CAN. • Close-up of plant with white flowers. Isolated plant with white flowers, growing in a sand dune. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 10 July, 1999. Aiken 99–043. CAN. • Close-up of white flower. Flower with four greenish sepals with white tips, four white spathulate petals, six anthers, one stigma. N.W.T. • ,. • Banks. • Island,. • Aulavik. • National. • Park,. • 10. • July,. • 1999.. • Aiken. • 99–043.. • CAN.>. • Close-up of white flower. Flower with four white petals, alternating with 4 small sepals, two outer anthers between the petals, and four anthers in front of petals, and a central stigma. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Aiken 99–043. CAN. • Close-up of pink flowers. Flowers with four purple petals. Central upper flower has the inner ring of four anthers pre-anthesis, and no evidence of the two whorl anthers; right hand flower shows the six anthers. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Aiken 99–055. CAN. • Close-up of developing capsules. Developing capsules; note the two-lobed stigma at the tip. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Aiken 99–055. CAN. • Close-up of plant setting seeds. Plant with purple flowers in which seed capsules are developing. Note two lobes on the stigma. Banks Island, Aulavik National Park, 11 July, 1999. Susan Aiken 99–055. CAN. Scale bar in cm. • Close-up of fruiting plant. Fruiting plants to 7 cm tall. Nunavut, Victoria Island, Cambridge Bay, 15 km west as crow flies. 28 July 1997. L.L. Consaul 1132 and L.J. Gillespie. CAN. • Arctic Island Distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
