Home/Species/ American Bittercress

Cardamine rotundifolia

Michx.

American Bittercress

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.128888

Element CodePDBRA0K120

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderCapparales

FamilyBrassicaceae

GenusCardamine

Other Common Names

American bittercress (EN) Round-leaf Water Cress (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Review Date1984-03-02

Change Date1984-03-02

Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Range Extent Comments

This mustard relative ranges from Georgia, north through the Appalachians to New York.

Threat Impact Comments

Highly threatened by forest management practices, and to a lesser extent by habitat loss and fragmentation (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002).

Ecology & Habitat

Description

Mountain watercress is a small, semiaquatic perennial with short trailing stems that sometimes produce runners that root at the nodes. The leaf blades are round to heart-shaped with unevenly wavy edges. The leaf stalks are about as long as the leaves and they often have one or two small lateral lobes below the main leaf blade, especially on the larger leaves. The flowers have four white petals about 1/8 to 1/4" long. The fruiting stalks are about 3/4" long and stick out from the stem. The light tan fruits are very narrow, about 3/4" long and usually infertile.

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN4

Province	Rank	Native
Delaware	S1	Yes
Virginia	S4	Yes
Ohio	SNR	Yes
New York	S1	Yes
Maryland	S3	Yes
Missouri	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	S1	Yes
West Virginia	S4	Yes
Kentucky	S3	Yes
North Carolina	S2	Yes
Georgia	SNR	Yes
Tennessee	S2	Yes
Pennsylvania	SNR	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (2)

Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mottesheard (VA)	Jefferson National Forest	2,596

West Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mottesheard (WV)	Jefferson National Forest	3,964

References (4)

Dodds, J.S. 2024. <i>Cardamine rotundifolia</i> Rare Plant Profile. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites, Forests & Natural Lands, Office of Natural Lands Management, New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton, NJ. 16 pp. [https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/heritage/docs/cardamine-rotundifolia-round-leaf-bittercress.pdf]
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2010. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 7. Magnoliophyta: Salicaceae to Brassicaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxii + 797 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.