SafePlants

Cardamine: Bittercress

Cardamine, commonly known as bittercress or bitter-cress, is a large genus of flowering plants. This plant exhibits a variety of forms and has several species and subspecies.

Considerations for Pets

• Some varieties, like Hairy Bittercress, have small hairs on the leaves.
• The plants can be small, making them easily accessible.

Considerations for Children

• The leaves of some bittercress species can be small.
• Some species have explosive seedpods.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Genus: Cardamine
• Family: Brassicaceae (also known as Cruciferae)
• Species Examples:
  • Cardamine concatenata (Cutleaf Toothwort, Small Mountain Bittercress)
  • Cardamine parviflora (Small-flowered Bittercress, Sand Bittercress)
  • Cardamine blaisdellii
  • Cardamine microphylla (Small-leaf Bittercress)
  • Cardamine hirsuta (Hairy Bittercress)
  • Cardamine flexuosa (Wavy Bittercress)
  • Cardamine impatiens (Narrowleaf Bittercress)
  • Cardamine cordifolia (Heartleaf Bittercress, Large Mountain Bittercress)
  • Cardamine pensylvanica
• Subspecies Examples:
  • Cardamine microphylla subsp. microphylla
  • Cardamine microphylla subsp. blaisdellii
• Synonyms and Common Names for Cardamine hirsuta: Lamb's Cress, Land Cress, Spring Cress, Hairy Bitter-cress

Distribution and Habitat

• Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is found throughout the northern half and the southeastern United States.

Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits

• Bittercress can be an annual or biennial plant.
• Many species form a basal rosette of leaves.
• Stems are mainly straight, with fewer stem leaves in some species compared to others.
• Flowers are small, often less than 4mm across, and white with 4 petals. They are usually found in a small bunch atop the stem.
• Leaf shape varies; some have simple leaves, while others have compound leaves made up of two or more discrete leaflets. Leaflets can have a club shape.
• Upper leaves are often smaller than the lower basal leaves.
• Narrowleaf bittercress (Cardamine impatiens) grows to a maximum of 2 feet in height.
• Hairy bittercress is variable in size and leaf shape and has small hairs at the base and sometimes on top of the leaf.

Quirky Facts

• Hairy bittercress has explosive seedpods.
• Crushed leaves of C. hirsuta and C. flexuosa have a cress-like smell.
• Very cold weather can cause new bittercress leaves to become small and crinkled, but the plant can stay in good picking condition all winter.

Interactions with Other Organisms

• Cardamine species serve as larval foodplants for some organisms.

Further Information

• Discover Life offers pages about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification, and distribution of Cardamine microphylla.