Cardamine

Scientific name

Cardamine L.

Common names

bittercress

Family

Brassicaceae

Similar genera

Centella, Clinopodium, Hydrocotyle, Lindernia, Rorippa

Native distribution

cosmopolitancosmopolitan:
(adj) essentially worldwide in distribution

Species cultivated

Cardamine lyrata Bunge

Adventive distribution

none

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

submersed, emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
creeping stem plant

Brief description

Annual or perennialperennial:
(adj) (of a plant) having a life cycle of more than two years
. Slender creeping stem, rooted at all nodes, branching regularly. Leaves alternatealternate:
(adj) (of leaves) bearing one leaf per node; placed singly on the stem at different heights
, short-petiolate, cordatecordate:
(adj) heart-shaped; in the form of two rounded lobes
to reniformreniform:
(adj) kidney-shaped
to rarely pinnatepinnate:
(adj) in the form of a feather; of, e.g., leaflets, lobes, or veins: arranged in two rows along an axis
with large terminalterminal:
(adj) at the apex
lobe, light green. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
a racemeraceme:
(n) an indeterminate, unbranched inflorescence having pedicelled flowers on a usually elongated axis (may be cymose)
with 10-30 pedicellatepedicellate:
(adj) borne on a pedicel
, white to yellow flowers. Sepals 4, green; petals 4, white. Dispersal by numerous seeds.

Natural habitat

submersed submersed:
see submerged
in clear streams and emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
around ponds, springs, lakes, and rivers

Additional comments

A large, cosmopolitancosmopolitan:
(adj) essentially worldwide in distribution
genus of typically terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
species, with a single aquatic species, C. lyrata, cultivated for aquaria.