OregonFlora: Cardamine maxima vs. Cardamine breweri

	Cardamine maxima	Cardamine breweri
		Brewer's bittercress
Habit		Plants perennial, glabrous or pubescent basally; rhizomes slender, cylindrical, rarely slightly thickened at stem base, 1–3(4) mm in diameter.
Stems		(6)15–60(70) cm, bases above ground as wide as its attachment to rhizome.
Rhizomal leaves		absent.
Cauline leaves		3–8(11), pinnately or palmately compound, 3–5-foliolate or rarely only terminal leaflets present, 2.5–12(13.5) cm, bases truncate, rounded, or cordate, not auriculate; margins dentate, sinuate, or ? 11-lobed, sometimes puberulent; terminal leaflets ovate to orbicular or subcordate, 1.5–4(5) × 1.5–3.5(5) cm; lateral leaflets (when present) smaller than terminal.
Inflorescences		bracts 0, fruiting pedicels ascending to divaricate; (7)10–20 mm.
Flowers		sepals oblong, 2–3(3.8) mm; erect; lateral pair not saccate; petals white, oblanceolate, 3.5–6(7) × 1.5–2.5(3) mm, not clawed; tips rounded or subemarginate; anthers oblong, 0.7–1 mm; ovules 14–28 per ovary; styles 0.2–1.5(2.5) mm.
Fruits		15–35 × 1–1.5 mm, glabrous.
Seeds		oblong, 1–1.6 × 0.9–1.1 mm.

	Cardamine maxima	Cardamine breweri
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion		Wet meadows, streambanks, within streams, lake shores, swamps, ponds. Flowering May–Jul. 0–2000 m. BW, Casc, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MT, east to WY, southeast to CO. Native.
Source		Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 464 Ihsan Al-Shehbaz
Sibling taxa	C. angulata, C. bellidifolia, C. breweri, C. californica, C. cordifolia, C. flexuosa, C. hirsuta, C. holmgrenii, C. nuttallii, C. occidentalis, C. oligosperma, C. parviflora, C. pattersonii, C. penduliflora, C. pensylvanica	C. angulata, C. bellidifolia, C. californica, C. cordifolia, C. flexuosa, C. hirsuta, C. holmgrenii, C. nuttallii, C. occidentalis, C. oligosperma, C. parviflora, C. pattersonii, C. penduliflora, C. pensylvanica
Synonyms		Cardamine breweri var. breweri, Cardamine breweri var. orbicularis
Web links	Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cardamine maxima

Cardamine breweri

Brewer's bittercress

Habit

Plants perennial, glabrous or pubescent basally; rhizomes slender, cylindrical, rarely slightly thickened at stem base, 1–3(4) mm in diameter.

Stems

(6)15–60(70) cm, bases above ground as wide as its attachment to rhizome.

Rhizomal leaves

absent.

Cauline leaves

3–8(11), pinnately or palmately compound, 3–5-foliolate or rarely only terminal leaflets present, 2.5–12(13.5) cm, bases truncate, rounded, or cordate, not auriculate;

margins dentate, sinuate, or ? 11-lobed, sometimes puberulent;

terminal leaflets ovate to orbicular or subcordate, 1.5–4(5) × 1.5–3.5(5) cm;

lateral leaflets (when present) smaller than terminal.

Inflorescences

bracts 0, fruiting pedicels ascending to divaricate; (7)10–20 mm.

Flowers

sepals oblong, 2–3(3.8) mm; erect;

lateral pair not saccate;

petals white, oblanceolate, 3.5–6(7) × 1.5–2.5(3) mm, not clawed;

tips rounded or subemarginate;

anthers oblong, 0.7–1 mm;

ovules 14–28 per ovary;

styles 0.2–1.5(2.5) mm.

Fruits

15–35 × 1–1.5 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

oblong, 1–1.6 × 0.9–1.1 mm.

Cardamine maxima

Cardamine breweri

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Wet meadows, streambanks, within streams, lake shores, swamps, ponds. Flowering May–Jul. 0–2000 m. BW, Casc, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, ID, NV, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MT, east to WY, southeast to CO. Native.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 464
Ihsan Al-Shehbaz

Sibling taxa