Earthsmoke

I have not seen any authentic speciment of this species from our area and the above cited specimens are those seen by R. R. Stewart (l.c.). The bracts in Fumaria schrammii and Fumaria vaillantii are said to be 1/2 and 3/4 as long as the fruiting pedicel respectively, and the wings of the upper petal straight in the former and erect-spreading in the latter. However, these differentiating characters are not correlated and constant.

The description here is taken in part from Flora of the Great Plains (Great Plains Flora Association 1986), where the specific epithet is misspelled "vaillentii," supplemented by measurements from specimens of European origin in the Harvard University Herbaria.

Very similar to the above species but bracts 1/2-3/4 as long as the pedicel in fruit; pedicel up to 3 mm long; flowers pinkish-violet; fruits often with persistent apiculus and leaf-segments always flat.

Plants 5-50 cm. Inflorescences , excluding peduncle, 1-4.5 cm; bracteoles 1/2-3/4 as long as pedicels. Flowers : pedicel straight and spreading to ascending in fruit, 1-3 mm; corolla 5-6 mm, spur 1-1.5 mm; petals pink or deep pink near base, deep pink or purple apically. Capsules subglobose, frequently longer than broad, 1.7-2.5 mm diam., slightly wrinkled or shallowly pitted. 2 n = 32.

N. Africa, Europe, W. Asia, Himalaya, India, W. Siberia.

Distribution: Europe, Temp. Asia and N. Africa.

200 m

Fl. Per.: April June.

Flowering spring. Open, disturbed places

Fumaria vaillantii, or earthsmoke, is a species of perennial herb in the family Papaveraceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 28 cm.