Small pink early spring alpine - can anyone i.d.?

[Hill Farm]

Hello all. Going through pictures from this past spring and I have one I can't identify. Smallish plant, about 6 inches in diameter, covered in pale pink flowers. Blooming in Prince George, B.C., April 20. Not (to my knowledge) a native wildflower of the area. Any leads greatly appreciated.

[Maggi Young]

Hello Barb, I think it's  an Aethionema,  not sure which species   ..... ??

[Hill Farm]

Thank you, Maggi. I was rather wondering if that was where it belongs, because of the Cruciferae-ish 4-petalled flowers. Looks a bit different than the other Aethionema I've seen, though, as those have all had rather defined bloom spikes/clusters, where this one is more of a cushion/bun. Of course, it could be just getting close to the end of its bloom time. 

[Maggi Young]

Quite a few of the Aethionemas wit h more sessile flowers and bun-type  growth,  A. caespitosa, oppositifolia and rotundifolia, for instance.  Hard to see the foliage well in your pix for ID  but I thought it looked quite fresh in the flower department!

[Hill Farm]

The more Aethionema pictures I look at the more convinced I am that this what this is. The only one I've had personal experience with is A. schistosum, and it is much more "spiky" (well, not really, but the stems stand up very stiffly and individually) than this one appeared to be. Also A. schistosum is quite powerfully fragrant, but I didn't notice any fragrance with the questionable plant, though I must admit I didn't get right down into the blooms and sniff.

I searched out your species suggestions, and none of them seem quite right, but of course there are a lot of variances in the genus.

I'm happy with this i.d., and will see if I can get something more specific in spring when the garden in question thaws out again! It's in the David Douglas Botanical Garden in Prince George, northern interior B.C., but the labelling there is a bit hit and miss; this one had no tag.

For what it's worth, here's a closer look at the foliage - apologies - not a very good picture but the only one I took.

Grateful thanks for the info - I knew someone here would be able to point me in the right direction.

Barb

[Ulla Hansson]

I think it is similar to Thlaspi stylosum.

[ruweiss]

What about Thlaspi bellidifolium?
Sorry- no better picture.

[Hill Farm]

Ulla and ruweiss: Another genus to investigate. Yes, those flowers look the same, don't they? Many thanks for the tips.

[ruweiss]

 Thlaspi bellidifolium, a picture from last Sunday.