Nakedstem Wallflower – Parrya nudicaulis

Alaska Wildflowers | Purple

Nakedstem Wallflower

Parrya nudicaulis

Common Names

Nakedstem wallflower
Parry’s wallflower
Little cabbages
Iñupiaq Name: Masu Aiġaq

Synonyms

Parrya nudicaulis ssp. nudicaulis (L.)
Parrya nudicaulis ssp. interior
Parrya nudicaulis ssp. septentrionalis
Neuroloma nudicaule (L.)
Parrya nudicaulis ssp. nudicaulis var. grandiflora
Parrya nudicaulis ssp. nudicaulis var. nudicaulis
Parrya nudicaulis var. grandiflora
Parrya nudicaulis var. interior (Hultén)
Parrya nudicaulis

Genus: Parrya R.
Family: Brassicaceae/Cruciferae (Mustard family)
Order: Capparales

Duration

Perennial

Uses

For information only (typically historical) – I take no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plant.

Roots and leaves used for food. The roots cooked and added to stews. May taste somewhat like horseradish.

Identification

The leaves of the nakedstem wallflower are all basal (most likely why it gets its name). The leaves are slightly toothed with the blade lanceolate or oblong and greyish-green. Stems are 10-30 cm long. Leaves and stems are often covered with silky hairs. The raceme has 3-20 showy flowers with long corolla tubes. The flowers are composed of oblong sepals and four lavender to white purple petals. The anthers are 1.5-2.5 mm in length. Fruits resemble pea pods (similar to those on alpine sweetvetch) and are narrowly oblong with 12-15 ovules per ovary (about 3-4 cm in length).

Distribution and Habitat

Parrya nudicaulis is native to Alaska and Northern Canada, British Columbia, Wyoming and Utah. Six different subspecies can be found in the Russian Far East, Siberia, Central Asia, China, and the Himalayas. I found reference of it being found from Afghanistan to Bhutan at high altitudes.

The nakedstem wallflower or Parry’s wallflower lives in a variety of habitats and soils and can be found in tundra, alpine stream valleys, mountain slopes, gravel, moist meadows, or stony slopes. It seems to favor moist, sandy, or gravelly soils. It typically flowers in early June through early August.

Classification

References and Further Reading

Guidebook

Field Guide to Alaskan Wildflowers, Pratt, Verna E. pg 26

Classification and Taxonomy

Parrya nudicaulis  (L.) Boiss. Taxonomic Serial No.: 22987, ITIS Database

Parrya nudicaulis (L.) Regel nakedstem wallflower, USDA Database.

Description and General Information

Parrya • Parry’s Wallflower, Circle District Historical Society

Naked-Stem Wallflower, Flowers of India

Parry’s Wallflower, Grand Valley State University

Uses

Native American Ethnobotony Database: searchstring: Parrya Nudicaulis

Scientific Description

3. Parrya nudicaulis (Linnaeus) Regel, Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou. 34: 176. 1861., Flora of North America (www.eFloras.org)

All online sources accessed March 2021 unless otherwise noted