Cardamine occidentalis

Big western bittercress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Big western bittercress is a California native perennial found in northwestern California in wet soils, lake margins, and creek habitats at elevations of 150 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces delicate white flowers 4 to 6 millimeters long with distinctive white petals. Growing with erect or ascending stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall, it develops fleshy rhizomes and can be simple or branched. Its leaves are pinnately compound with 5 to 7 leaflets, the terminal leaflet round to widely ovate, 0.5 to 2 centimeters long, with entire or wavy margins. The plant produces elongated fruits 1.5 to 3.5 centimeters long, carried on spreading-ascending pedicels.

Habitat: Wet soils, lake margins, creeks

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 150-1500 m

Bioregions: NW

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