Cardamine breweri
Brewer's bitter cress
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Family: Brassicaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Cardamine breweri (Brewer's bitter cress) is a native California herb in the Brassicaceae family, recognized by lack of basal leaves and small petals diagnostic.
Brewer's bitter cress is a California native perennial found in northern northwestern California, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, western Transverse Range, San Bernardino Mountains, Warner Mountains, and eastern Sierra Nevada in wet places and conifer forests at elevations of 400 to 3,200 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces white flowers 3.5 to 6 millimeters long with delicate petals. Growing with decumbent to erect stems 15 to 60 centimeters tall, it has a slender rhizome and can be glabrous or sparsely hairy near the base. Its leaves typically have 3 to 5 leaflets, with the terminal leaflet ovate to nearly round, featuring crenate or dentate margins. The fruit develops as an erect silique 1.5 to 3.5 centimeters long, containing 14 to 28 small oblong seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 10 sympatric species; lack of basal leaves and small petals diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Wet places, conifer forest
Elevation: 400-3200 m
California counties: Inyo, Madera, Modoc, Mono, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Tulare, San Bernardino, Fresno, Shasta, Butte, Nevada, Tuolumne, Santa Cruz, Alpine, Siskiyou, Lassen, Humboldt, El Dorado, Amador, Mendocino, Yuba, Tehama, Kern, Mariposa, Santa Barbara
Outside California: to British Columbia, Montana, Colorado
Bloom period
Cardamine breweri blooms Jun-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Raphanus: Cardamine has narrow pencil-like pods with many seeds; Raphanus has thick beaked pods that break into segments.; vs Nasturtium: Cardamine grows on moist land in shade; Nasturtium grows in or at the edge of water in sun.; vs Viola: Cardamine has four petals and thin seed pods; Viola has five petals and a capsule that splits into three parts.; vs Vancouveria: Cardamine has four-petaled flowers and seed pods; Vancouveria has six-petaled flowers and follicles.; vs Lepidium: Cardamine has narrow pods with many seeds; Lepidium has flattened round pods with only 2 seeds.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cardamine breweri native to California?
Yes. Cardamine breweri is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Cardamine breweri bloom?
Cardamine breweri blooms Jun-Jul.
Where in California does Cardamine breweri grow?
Cardamine breweri occurs in Inyo, Madera, Modoc, Mono, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Tulare and other counties, at elevations of 400-3200 m.
What plant family does Cardamine breweri belong to?
Cardamine breweri is in the Brassicaceae family, genus Cardamine.
What habitat does Cardamine breweri grow in?
Cardamine breweri grows in Wet places, conifer forest.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.