Cardamine
Encyclopedia
Cardamine is a large genus
in the family Brassicaceae
. It contains more than 150 species of annuals
and perennials
. The genus grows worldwide in diverse habitats
, except in the Antarctic
. Genus Dentaria is a synonym for Cardamine.
The leaves
can have different forms, going from minute to medium-sized. They can be pinnate or bipinnate. They are basal and cauline (growing on the upper part of the stem), with narrow tips. They are rosulate (forming a rosette). The blade margins can be entire, serrate or dentate. The stem
internodes lack firmness.
The radially symmetrical flower
s grow in a racemose many-flowered inflorescence
or in corymbs. The white, pink or purple flowers are minute to medium-sized. The petal
s are longer than the sepal
s. The fertile flowers are hermaphroditic
.
The fruit
s are long, thin dehiscent pods with many (20-100) seeds. In some regions this plant is considered a nuisance; one author observes, "Weeding this little pest is decidedly unsatisfying, for when its fully ripe pods are touched, they split open and shoot out their seeds, thus spitefully sowing another crop."
Some plants were reputed to have medicinal qualities (treatment of heart or stomach ailments).
The name Cardamine is derived from the Greek
word kardamon, referring to a Persian or Indian herb
with pungent leaves.
Hybrids
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the family Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
. It contains more than 150 species of annuals
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
and perennials
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
. The genus grows worldwide in diverse habitats
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
, except in the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
. Genus Dentaria is a synonym for Cardamine.
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
can have different forms, going from minute to medium-sized. They can be pinnate or bipinnate. They are basal and cauline (growing on the upper part of the stem), with narrow tips. They are rosulate (forming a rosette). The blade margins can be entire, serrate or dentate. The stem
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
internodes lack firmness.
The radially symmetrical flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s grow in a racemose many-flowered inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
or in corymbs. The white, pink or purple flowers are minute to medium-sized. The petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s are longer than the sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s. The fertile flowers are hermaphroditic
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
.
The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s are long, thin dehiscent pods with many (20-100) seeds. In some regions this plant is considered a nuisance; one author observes, "Weeding this little pest is decidedly unsatisfying, for when its fully ripe pods are touched, they split open and shoot out their seeds, thus spitefully sowing another crop."
Some plants were reputed to have medicinal qualities (treatment of heart or stomach ailments).
The name Cardamine is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word kardamon, referring to a Persian or Indian herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
with pungent leaves.
Species
- Cardamine africana
- Cardamine amara - Large Bittercress
- Cardamine amporitana
- Cardamine angulata - Seaside Bittercress, Angled Bittercress
- Cardamine angustata - Slender Toothwort
- Cardamine bellidifolia - Alpine Bittercress, Alpine Cress
- Cardamine bilobata
- Cardamine breweriCardamine breweriCardamine breweri is a species of cardamine known by the common name Brewer's bittercress. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in coniferous forests, particularly in wet bog habitats....
- Brewer's Bittercress
- Cardamine bulbifera - Coralroot
- Cardamine bulbosaCardamine bulbosaThe Bulbous Cress, Bittercress, or Spring Cress is a perennial plant native to eastern North America. This plant grows in moist soils of bottomland woods and wet meadows....
- Bulbous Bittercress, Spring Cress - Cardamine caldeirarum - Azorean Bittercress
- Cardamine californicaCardamine californicaCardamine californica , is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to western North America from Washington to California and Baja California. It is common on shady slopes and grasslands in the winter and early spring.-Description:Cardamine californica is herbaceous perennial plant...
- Milkmaids - Cardamine changbaiana
- Cardamine chenopodiifolia
- Cardamine clematitis - Small Mountain Bittercress
- Cardamine concatenataCardamine concatenataThe Cutleaf Toothwort, Crow's Toes, Pepper Root, Purple-flowered Toothwort is a flowering plant in Brassicaceae. It owes its name to the tooth-like appearance of its rhizome. It is a perennial plant woodland wildflower native to eastern North America...
- Cutleaf Toothwort, Cut-leaved Toothwort - Cardamine constancei - Constance's Bittercress
- Cardamine cordifolia - Heartleaf Bittercress, Heartleaved Bittercress, Large Mountain Bittercress
- Cardamine corymbosaCardamine corymbosaCardamine corymbosa, commonly known as the New Zealand Bittercress, is a flowering plant in the Brassicaceae, or cabbage family. Native to the subantarctic islands of Australasia, it has become an invasive species in plant nurseries...
- New Zealand Bittercress - Cardamine debilis - Roadside Bittercress
- Cardamine dentata
- Cardamine digitataCardamine digitataCardamine digitata , is an ornamental plant of Brassicaceae family, which is native of Alaska and Canada.-External links:*...
- Richardson's Bittercress - Cardamine diphyllaCardamine diphyllaCardamine diphylla is a plant is native to North America.C...
- Crinkleroot, Twin-leaved Toothwort - Cardamine dissecta - Forkleaf Toothwort
- Cardamine douglassii - Limestone Bittercress
- Cardamine enneaphyllos - Drooping Bittercress
- Cardamine fargesiana
- Cardamine flagellifera - Blue Ridge Bittercress
- Cardamine flexuosaCardamine flexuosaCardamine flexuosa, commonly known as Wavy Bittercress, is a herbaceous annual plant of the genus Cardamine....
- Woodland Bittercress, Wavy Bittercress - Cardamine gambelii
- Cardamine glacialis
- Cardamine gouldii
- Cardamine gunnii
- Cardamine gunnii-lilacina
- Cardamine heptaphylla
- Cardamine hirsutaCardamine hirsutaHairy Bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta, is a winter annual plant native to Europe and Asia, but also present in North America as an invasive weed. The plant is a member of the mustard family , and is edible as a bitter herb. It flowers from quite early in the Spring until the Autumn...
- Hairy Bittercress - Cardamine impatiensCardamine impatiensCardamine impatiens or Narrow-leaved Bittercress is a plant species of the genus Cardamine belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It is a slender, biennial herb, that produces sterile leaves in the first year, one to several flowering stems during the next. Its leaves are pinnate with several pairs...
- Narrowleaf Bittercress, Narrow-leaved Bittercress - Cardamine jamesonii
- Cardamine keysseri
- Cardamine kruesseli - Juan Fernandez Islands Bittercress
- Cardamine laciniata
- Cardamine lihengiana
- Cardamine lilacina
- Cardamine lojanensisCardamine lojanensisCardamine lojanensis is a species of flowering plant in the Brassicaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland....
- Cardamine longii - Long's Bittercress
- Cardamine lyrataCardamine lyrataCardamine lyrata, known commonly as Japanese cress and Chinese ivy, is a species of aquatic plant in the mustard family. It is native to the marshes of eastern China and Siberia, as well as Korea and Japan. It flowers from May to June in the wild, with seeds ripening through September. The flowers...
- Cardamine macrocarpa - Largeseed Bittercress
- Cardamine maritima
- Cardamine matthiola
- Cardamine maxima - Large Toothwort
- Cardamine micrantheraCardamine micrantheraCardamine micranthera is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names small-anthered bittercress and streambank bittercress. It is endemic to the Piedmont region around the border between Virginia and North Carolina, particularly in the Dan River watershed...
- Small-anthered Bittercress, Streambank Bittercress - Cardamine microphylla - Small-leaf Bittercress
- Cardamine montelucii
- Cardamine nuttalliiCardamine nuttalliiCardamine nuttallii is a species of cardamine known by the common name Nuttall's toothwort. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in moist mountain habitats....
- Nuttall's Toothwort - Cardamine nymanii - Lady Smock
- Cardamine obliqua
- Cardamine occidentalisCardamine occidentalisCardamine occidentalis is a species of cardamine known by the common name big western bittercress. It is native to western North America from Alaska to northwestern California, where it grows in moist mountain habitats.-Description:...
- Big Western Bittercress - Cardamine oligospermaCardamine oligospermaCardamine oligosperma is a species of cardamine known by the common name little western bittercress. It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist mountain habitats.-Description:...
- Idaho Bittercress, Little Western Bittercress, Annual Bittercress - Cardamine pachystigmaCardamine pachystigmaCardamine pachystigma is a species of cardamine known by the common name serpentine bittercress. It is endemic to California, where it grows in rocky mountainous areas, often on serpentine and volcanic soils.-Description:...
- Serpentine Bittercress - Cardamine palustris
- Cardamine parviflora - Sand Bittercress, Small-flowered Bittercress
- Cardamine pattersonii - Saddle Mountain Bittercress
- Cardamine paucijuga
- Cardamine penduliflora - Willamette Valley Bittercress
- Cardamine pensylvanicaCardamine pensylvanicaCardamine pensylvanica is a species of cardamine known by the common name Pennsylvania bittercress. It is native to most of Canada and the United States from coast to coast. It is generally found in moist to wet areas, such as the mud on riverbanks...
- Pennsylvania Bittercress, Quaker Bittercress - Cardamine pentaphyllosCardamine pentaphyllosCardamine pentaphyllos , is an ornamental plant in the family Brassicaceae....
- Cardamine pratensisCardamine pratensisCardamine pratensis , is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia.-Description:...
- Cuckoo Flower, Ladies Smock, Lady's Smock, Meadow Cress
- Cardamine pulcherrima - Slender Toothwort
- Cardamine purpurascens
- Cardamine purpurea - Purple Bittercress
- Cardamine regeliana - Japanese Bittercress
- Cardamine residifolia
- Cardamine raphanifolia
- Cardamine rotundifolia - American Bittercress, American watercress, Mountain Watercress
- Cardamine rupicola - Cliff Bittercress
- Cardamine scutata - chamsur, Kathmandu,Nepal (Leaves used as vegetable)
- Cardamine seidlitziana
- Cardamine tenera
- Cardamine trichocarpa
- Cardamine trifoliata
- Cardamine uliginosa
Hybrids
- Cardamine × anomala - Anomalous Bittercress
- Cardamine × incisa - Incised Bittercress