Hypecoum pendulum
L., Sp. Pl. 124. 1753. H. procumbens auct. non L.; Hook.
f. & Thomson, Fl. Ind. 276. 1855; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 120. 1872.
Herbs, 5 - 25 cm high, slender, procumbent; stems many, slender. Leaves 2 - 3-pinnatisect with linear segments; cauline leaves palmatisect, subopposite, 5 - 10 cm
long. Flowers yellow, 8 - 12 mm across, few, pedicellate. Sepals entire or shallowly incised along margin. Outer petals entire or obscurely 3-lobed, 7 - 10 x 4 - 6 mm, the
two lateral lobes a little broader than median lobe and projecting laterally like teeth;
inner 2 deeply 3-lobed, dentate or fimbriate, obtuse, 4 -
7 mm long; middle lobe shorter
or longer than lateral lobes, emarginate and recurved, spathulate. Stamens 5 - 6 mm
long; filaments ca 4.5 mm long; glands 2 at the base of filaments; anthers ca 2 mm long,
basifixed, linear with 2 projections at apex on locules. Ovary ca 5 mm long; style slender,
ca 3.5 mm long; stigmas 2, divergent, ca 1.5 mm long. Capsules pendulous, terete,
subcylindical, 3 -
7.5 x 1.5 -
3 mm, indehiscent or pseudodehiscent and breaking into
1-seeded segments. Seeds obliquely semicircular, ca 2 x 1.5 mm, grey.
KEY TO THE VARIETIES
| 1a. Capsules disarticulating; epidermis not peeling off | 2.1. parviflorum |
| b. Capsules not disarticulating; epidermis peeling off | 2.2. pendulum |
