Rorippa Curvisiliqua

Day 321: Be reasonable here. If you had a fun-to-say name like Rorippa curvisiliqua, wouldn't you consider it an insult to be called something as uninspired as "Western Yellowcress?" The Latin binomial breaks the standard rule of emphasis. Rather than weighting the antepenultimate syllable (the third one back from the end) as one would do in a single word, it should be understood that "curvisiliqua" is a compound word, "curvi-" for the shape and "-siliqua" for the type of pod. In other words, Ro-RIP-pa cur-vi-si-LI-qua bears a curved silique when it is in fruit. I may occasionally mangle the Latin, but in this instance, I'll argue my point with any taxonomist you care to bring forward.

Known for living in wet, sandy soils, at Ghost Lake, Rorippa takes habitat to a whole new extreme. Sometimes it leafs out while still under water! By the time the lake has dropped to summertime levels, it's ready to bloom. Specimens here are somewhat smaller than those found elsewhere in the Park, justifying subspecies nomenclature of R. curvisiliqua var. curvisiliqua. Rorippa may not be much to look at, but you have to admire it for the way it has adapted.