Cardamine hirsuta

Hairy bitter cress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Hairy bitter cress is a naturalized annual found in the Klamath Ranges and central Coast Ranges in disturbed areas, roadsides, and fields at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from February to July, this plant produces small white flowers with petals 2.5 to 4.5 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems 10 to 35 centimeters tall and stiff hairs below, it forms a distinctive basal rosette of leaves. Its leaves have 4 to 7 pairs of leaflets, with terminal leaflets larger than lateral ones, ranging from kidney-shaped to nearly round and measuring 0.6 to 3 centimeters wide. The fruit is an erect pod 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters long, containing 14 to 40 small oblong seeds.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, roadsides, fields

Bloom period: Feb-Jul

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: KR, CCo

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