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Cardamine bulbosa

(Schreb. ex Muhl.) B.S.P.

Bulbous Bittercress

G5Secure Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.157402
Element CodePDBRA0K1F0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderCapparales
FamilyBrassicaceae
GenusCardamine
Synonyms
Cardamine rhomboidea(Pers.) D.C.
Other Common Names
bulbous bittercress (EN) Cardamine bulbeuse (FR)
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.
Taxonomic Comments
Has sometimes been treated as Cardamine rhomboidea; treated as Cardamine bulbosa in FNA (2010, vol. 7) and Kartesz (1994, 1999).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-07-15
Change Date1984-02-16
Edition Date2025-07-15
Edition AuthorsGeoffrey Hall (1998), rev. N. Ventrella (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Cardamine bulbosa is a perennial forb occurring in woodlands, floodplains, grasslands, swamps, marshes, streambanks, and ditches of eastern North America, from Manitoba (where it is considered historical) and to Quebec, Canada, south to Florida and Texas in the United States. There are over a thousand occurrences rangewide, which are threatened by invasive species, succession, logging, rights-of-way construction and maintenance, and likely other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent, abundant habitat, and broad habitat preferences, Cardamine bulbosa is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Cardamine bulbosa occurs in eastern North America, from Manitoba (where it is considered historical) and Quebec, Canada, south to Florida and Texas in the United States (FNA 2010, Manitoba Conservation Data Centre 2020). Range extent was estimated to be over 3.8 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are over a thousand occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Threats to Cardamine bulbosa are not well documented but include invasive species, succession, logging, rights-of-way construction and maintenance, and likely other threats in some places. However, these threats are considered negligible given the broad range and large number of occurrences of the species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Cardamine bulbosa occurs on "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, [and] seepy bluffs" from 0-900 m in elevation (FNA 2010).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - ConiferGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN4
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS2Yes
ManitobaSHYes
OntarioS4Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
New HampshireSHYes
MaineS1Yes
KentuckyS4Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
DelawareS4Yes
MassachusettsS2Yes
South CarolinaS3Yes
ConnecticutS4Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
NebraskaS2Yes
VermontS1Yes
KansasS1Yes
New JerseyS5Yes
MarylandSNRYes
North DakotaS1Yes
ArkansasSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
West VirginiaS4Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
IndianaS5Yes
VirginiaS5Yes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
New YorkS5Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
5 - Biological resource useUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3.5 - Motivation unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionUnknownUnknownUnknown
7.1.2 - Suppression in fire frequency/intensityUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (6)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainTalladega National Forest4,986
Michigan (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear SwampHuron-Manistee National Forest3,915
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Stone MountainCherokee National Forest5,367
Texas (2)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Winters BayouNational Forests in Texas730
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
References (9)
  1. 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.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. 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.
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  6. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre. 2020. Element Subnational Ranking Form: <i>Cardamine bulbosa</i> in Biotics 5 database. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  7. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  8. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  9. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).