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bulb bittercress, bulbous bitter-cress, spring cress

Habit Perennials; glabrous or sparsely pubescent distally.
Rhizomes

(tuberous at stem base, sometimes also at intervals) subglobose, lobed, 4–15 mm diam. (fleshy).

Stems

erect, unbranched, (1–)2–6 dm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on distal 1/2 (trichomes 0.02–0.1 mm).

Rhizomal leaves

simple, (2–)4–13(–16) cm;

petiole (1.5–)2.5–10(–13) cm;

blade usually reniform to cordate or ovate, rarely oblong, (1–)2–4(–6) cm, base obtuse to cordate, margins usually repand or entire, rarely shallowly dentate.

Cauline leaves

(2–)4–10(–14), simple, petiolate or sessile; (middle ones) shortly petiolate or (distally) sessile, base not auriculate;

blade ovate to oblong, or oblong-linear to lanceolate, 3–6(–9) cm × 10–30(–45) mm, margins entire, repand, or dentate (margins minutely pubescent).

Racemes

ebracteate.

Flowers

sepals oblong, 2.5–4.5 × 1.5–2 mm, lateral pair not saccate basally, (glabrous);

petals usually white, rarely pale pink, obovate, (6–)7–12(–16) × 3–5 mm, (short-clawed, apex rounded);

filaments: median pairs 4.5–7 mm, lateral pair 2–3.5 mm;

anthers oblong, 1–1.5 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

ascending to divaricate, (10–)15–22(–30) mm.

Fruits

linear, 2–3.5(–4) cm × 1.4–1.7 mm;

ovules 14–24 per ovary;

style 2–4(–5) mm.

Seeds

dark orange to greenish yellow, oblong or globose, 1.7–2.1 × 1–1.4 mm.

2n

= 16, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112.

Cardamine bulbosa

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Wet grounds, low woodland, moss hummocks, alluvial woods, grassy floodplains, wet pastures, meadows, pinelands, creek bottoms, stream banks, sandy bottoms, ditches, mesic or wet forests, swamps, marshes, seepy bluffs
Elevation 0-900 m (0-3000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 469.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Cardamineae > Cardamine
Sibling taxa
C. angulata, C. angustata, C. bellidifolia, C. blaisdellii, C. breweri, C. californica, C. clematitis, C. concatenata, C. constancei, C. cordifolia, C. digitata, C. diphylla, C. dissecta, C. douglassii, C. flagellifera, C. flexuosa, C. hirsuta, C. holmgrenii, C. impatiens, C. longii, C. macrocarpa, C. maxima, C. micranthera, C. microphylla, C. nuttallii, C. nymanii, C. occidentalis, C. oligosperma, C. pachystigma, C. parviflora, C. pattersonii, C. penduliflora, C. pensylvanica, C. pratensis, C. purpurea, C. rotundifolia, C. rupicola, C. umbellata
Synonyms Arabis bulbosa, Arabis rhomboidea, C. rhomboidea, C. rhomboidea var. hirsuta, C. rhomboidea var. parviflora, C. rhomboidea var. pilosa, Dentaria rhomboidea, Dracamine bulbosa
Name authority (Schreber ex Muhlenberg) Britton: Prelim. Cat., 4. (1888)
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