Cardamine angulata

Seaside bitter cress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Seaside bitter cress is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in northwestern California in shady thickets, streambanks, and forest habitats at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white to pale pink flowers 8 to 15 millimeters long with delicate, broad petals. Growing with slender stems 2.5 to 8.5 decimeters tall, it emerges from a thin rhizome and features sparse to dense hairs at the base. Its compound leaves have 3 to 5 ovate to lanceolate leaflets with dentate or entire margins, with rhizome leaf petioles 4 to 12 centimeters long. The fruit is an erect to ascending pod 1.5 to 3.2 centimeters in length, bearing 6 to 16 small oblong seeds.

Habitat: Shady thickets, streambanks, forest

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 900 m

Bioregions: NW

California counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Marin, Siskiyou

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.