Cardamine impatiens L.

Narrowleaf bittercress (en), Cardamine impatiente (fr), Herbe au diable (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Brassicales > Brassicaceae > Cardamine

Characteristics

Herbs biennial or rarely annual, (12-)20-65(-90) cm tall, glabrous or rarely sparsely pubescent near base. Stems erect, simple at base, usually branched above, angled, sometimes flexuous. Basal leaves rosulate, often withered by flowering; petiole 1-4 cm, not auriculate; leaf blade pinnatisect and appearing compound. Cauline leaves to 15 per stem; petiole auriculate, 2-6 cm; auricles lanceolate or linear, 1-8(-10) × (0.1-)0.3-1.8(-2.2) mm, often ciliate; leaf blade (1-)3-18(-22) × (0.6-)1-5.5(-7) cm, pinnatisect; terminal lobe orbicular, obovate, ovate, or lanceolate, 1-4(-5) × 0.5-1.7 cm, with a petiolule to 5 mm, entire or obscurely to strongly 3-5(-9)-toothed or-lobed; lateral lobes (4-)6-11 on each side of midvein, oblong, lanceolate, or ovate, sessile or long petiolulate, smaller than terminal lobe, margin dentate, sublaciniate, or rarely entire; uppermost leaves with narrower segments. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, 3.5-12(-15) mm, slender. Sepals oblong, 1.2-2(-2.5) × 0.7-1(-1.2) mm. Petals white, oblanceolate, 1.5-4(-5) × 0.6-1.2 mm, rarely absent. Stamens 6; filaments 2-3(-4) mm; anthers ovate, 0.3-0.5 mm. Ovules 10-30 per ovary. Fruit linear, (1-)1.6-3(-3.5) cm × 0.9-1.5 mm; valves glabrous or rarely pilose, torulose; style 0.6-1.6(-2) mm. Seeds brown, oblong, 1.1-1.5 × 0.8-1 mm, compressed, sometimes apically narrowly winged. Fl. and fr. Feb-Jul. 2n = 16, 32.
More
Biennials or, rarely, annuals; usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent basally. Rhizomes absent. Stems erect, (angled, sometimes flexuous), unbranched basally, usually branched distally, (1.2-)2-6.5 (-9) dm. Basal leaves (often withered by flowering), rosulate, similar to cauline, with fewer distal leaflets. Cauline leaves 9-24, (9-)13-25-foliolate, petiolate, leaflets petiolulate; petiole 2-6 cm, base auriculate (auricles to 10 × 2.2 mm); lateral leaflets similar to terminal, blade often smaller; terminal leaflet (petiolule to 0.5 cm), blade orbicular, obovate, ovate, or lanceolate, 1-4(-5) cm × 5-17 mm, margins entire or 3-5(-9)-toothed or-lobed. Racemes ebracteate. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, 3.5-12(-15) mm. Flowers: sepals oblong, 1.2-2(-2.5) × 0.7-1(-1.2) mm, lateral pair not saccate basally; petals (rarely absent), white, oblanceolate, 1.5-4(-5) × 0.6-1.2 mm; filaments 2-3(-4) mm; anthers ovate, 0.3-0.5 mm. Fruits linear, (torulose), (1-)1.6-3(-3.5) cm × 0.9-1.5 mm; (valves glabrous or, rarely, pilose); ovules 10-30 per ovary; style 0.6-1.6(-2) mm. Seeds brown, oblong, 1.1-1.5 × 0.8-1 mm, (compressed, sometimes narrowly winged apically). 2n = 16.
Annual or biennial herbs 15-30 cm high, erect. Basal leaves in a rosette, not persistent, pinnate with 3-5 pairs of broadly ovate, petiolulate leaflets, each with 3-5 rounded lobes; petiole not auriculate. Stem leaves pinnate with 5-9 pairs of ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, dentate to subentire, petiolulate leaflets; leaflets membranous, ciliolate and occasionally thinly puberulous; petiole with narrow auricles, channelled; auricles and lower part of petiole ciliate. Inflorescence a few-to many-flowered raceme. Flowers small with narrow, white, 2-3 mm long petals only slightly exceeding the sepals. Stamens 4 or 6. Siliquae 1-2.5 cm long, c. 1 mm wide, linear, erect, tipped with a short, thin style; valves smooth. Seeds 1.1-1.4 x 0.8-0.9 mm, flattened, oblong.
A cabbage family herb. It grows 20-65 cm tall. It can be hairy. The leaves vary in size. The leaves are 3-7 cm long. They have lobes. The lobes are oval. The flowers are white and in groups of 20-30 flowers. The flowers are 3-4 mm across. The fruit is a pod. There are many seeds about 1 mm long.
Annual or biennial herb, up to 300 mm tall. Stems erect, leafy. Leaves pinnate; stem-leaves with narrow auricles. Flowers white.
Life form
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.3 - 0.6
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in shady or moist slopes, stream sides, fields, roadsides near sea level to 4000 m altitude in China. It grows between 1500-4000 m altitude in Nepal. It grows in wetlands.
More
Very local in shady woods, especially ash, and on moist limestone rocks and cliffs, especially in the west.
Light 3-8
Soil humidity 5-8
Soil texture 1-4
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-8

Usage

The tender shoots and leaves are cooked as a vegetable. They are also eaten as a salad.
Uses fodder medicinal
Edible flowers leaves shoots
Therapeutic use Diuretic (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), General tonic for rejuvenation (unspecified), Diuretics (whole plant), General tonic for rejuvenation (whole plant)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Cardamine impatiens habit picture by Jan Löser (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens habit picture by Jani Zadrgal (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens habit picture by Susan (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Cardamine impatiens leaf picture by Nadia Aouati (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens leaf picture by Rik Waenink (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens leaf picture by Lucien Boete (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Cardamine impatiens flower picture by Anita Renner (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens flower picture by joanna kybert (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens flower picture by Martin Bishop (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Cardamine impatiens fruit picture by Udo Herkommer (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens fruit picture by Michel Brazl (cc-by-sa)
Cardamine impatiens fruit picture by Alexander Baransky (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Cardamine impatiens world distribution map, present in Canada, China, France, India, Pakistan, United States of America, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:280391-1
WFO ID wfo-0000586999
COL ID R4FJ
BDTFX ID 75019
INPN ID 87933
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Cardamine glaphyropoda Cardamine miyabei Cardamine apetala Cardamine basisagittata Cardamine brachycarpa Cardamine nakaiana Cardamine senanensis Crucifera impatiens Ghinia impatiens Cardamine apetala Cardamine saxatilis Cardamine dasycarpa Cardamine impatiens f. humilis Cardamine impatiens var. fumaria Cardamine glaphyropoda var. crenata Cardamine impatiens var. acutifolia Cardamine impatiens var. angustifolia Cardamine impatiens var. dasycarpa Cardamine impatiens var. eriocarpa Cardamine impatiens var. longipes Cardamine impatiens var. microphylla Cardamine impatiens var. minor Cardamine impatiens var. obtusifolia Cardamine impatiens var. pilosa Cardamine impatiens var. tenuissima Cardamine impatiens subsp. impatiens Cardamine impatiens var. impatiens Cardamine impatiens subsp. elongata Cardamine impatiens

Lower taxons

Cardamine impatiens subsp. pectinata