Index / Search / Cardamine pensylvanica
§1 Plant
Cardamine pensylvanica Muhl. ex Willd.
vernacular Pennsylvania bittercress — species · Brassicaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Annual, Biennial, Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Brassicaceae Burnett
- Genus
- Cardamine
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Native
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
- SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b
County-level range
· 849 counties across 30 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- None
- Shade
- Low
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- None
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -33 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 75 min.
- Precipitation
- 32–55 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.8–6.8
- Root depth
- 7 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Crown
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Short
- Mature height
- 1.5 ft
- Foliage texture
- Fine
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Porous
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- White
- Fruit colour
- Black
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Early Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Rapid
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 275,000
- Propagation
- seed
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- No Known Source
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 849 counties across 30 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Alaska view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Arkansas view state ↗ 30 N ▾
- Arkansas 05001
- Ashley 05003
- Bradley 05011
- Clark 05019
- Clay 05021
- Cleburne 05023
- Conway 05029
- Craighead 05031
- Drew 05043
- Faulkner 05045
- Franklin 05047
- Garland 05051
- Greene 05055
- Hempstead 05057
- Jefferson 05069
- Johnson 05071
- Lawrence 05075
- Lonoke 05085
- Monroe 05095
- Nevada 05099
- Ouachita 05103
- Pike 05109
- Polk 05113
- Pope 05115
- Pulaski 05119
- Sebastian 05131
- Sevier 05133
- Union 05139
- Van Buren 05141
- Washington 05143
Delaware view state ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 38 N ▾
- Alachua 12001
- Baker 12003
- Broward 12011
- Calhoun 12013
- Citrus 12017
- Collier 12021
- DeSoto 12027
- Dixie 12029
- Escambia 12033
- Franklin 12037
- Gadsden 12039
- Glades 12043
- Hardee 12049
- Hernando 12053
- Highlands 12055
- Hillsborough 12057
- Jackson 12063
- Jefferson 12065
- Lake 12069
- Lee 12071
- Leon 12073
- Levy 12075
- Manatee 12081
- Marion 12083
- Miami-Dade 12086
- Nassau 12089
- Okaloosa 12091
- Orange 12095
- Osceola 12097
- Palm Beach 12099
- Pasco 12101
- Pinellas 12103
- Polk 12105
- Santa Rosa 12113
- Sarasota 12115
- Taylor 12123
- Wakulla 12129
- Walton 12131
Georgia view state ↗ 19 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 78 N ▾
- Adams 17001
- Alexander 17003
- Bond 17005
- Brown 17009
- Calhoun 17013
- Cass 17017
- Champaign 17019
- Clark 17023
- Clay 17025
- Clinton 17027
- Coles 17029
- Cook 17031
- Crawford 17033
- Cumberland 17035
- DeKalb 17037
- Douglas 17041
- DuPage 17043
- Edgar 17045
- Edwards 17047
- Effingham 17049
- Fayette 17051
- Franklin 17055
- Fulton 17057
- Gallatin 17059
- Greene 17061
- Grundy 17063
- Hamilton 17065
- Hancock 17067
- Hardin 17069
- Jackson 17077
- Jasper 17079
- Jersey 17083
- Jo Daviess 17085
- Johnson 17087
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Kendall 17093
- Knox 17095
- Lake 17097
- LaSalle 17099
- Lawrence 17101
- Livingston 17105
- Macoupin 17117
- Madison 17119
- Marion 17121
- Marshall 17123
- Mason 17125
- Massac 17127
- McDonough 17109
- McHenry 17111
- McLean 17113
- Menard 17129
- Mercer 17131
- Monroe 17133
- Montgomery 17135
- Ogle 17141
- Peoria 17143
- Perry 17145
- Piatt 17147
- Pope 17151
- Putnam 17155
- Randolph 17157
- Saline 17165
- Sangamon 17167
- Schuyler 17169
- Shelby 17173
- St. Clair 17163
- Union 17181
- Vermilion 17183
- Wabash 17185
- Warren 17187
- Washington 17189
- Wayne 17191
- White 17193
- Whiteside 17195
- Will 17197
- Williamson 17199
- Winnebago 17201
Indiana view state ↗ 55 N ▾
- Allen 18003
- Blackford 18009
- Boone 18011
- Carroll 18015
- Clark 18019
- Clay 18021
- Crawford 18025
- Dearborn 18029
- Decatur 18031
- Fayette 18041
- Floyd 18043
- Fountain 18045
- Franklin 18047
- Fulton 18049
- Grant 18053
- Hamilton 18057
- Hancock 18059
- Harrison 18061
- Henry 18065
- Howard 18067
- Huntington 18069
- Jackson 18071
- Jasper 18073
- Jefferson 18077
- Jennings 18079
- Johnson 18081
- Lagrange 18087
- Lake 18089
- LaPorte 18091
- Lawrence 18093
- Marion 18097
- Martin 18101
- Monroe 18105
- Montgomery 18107
- Morgan 18109
- Newton 18111
- Owen 18119
- Perry 18123
- Porter 18127
- Putnam 18133
- Randolph 18135
- Shelby 18145
- Spencer 18147
- St. Joseph 18141
- Sullivan 18153
- Switzerland 18155
- Vanderburgh 18163
- Vermillion 18165
- Wabash 18169
- Warren 18171
- Warrick 18173
- Washington 18175
- Wayne 18177
- Wells 18179
- White 18181
Kansas view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Kentucky view state ↗ 50 N ▾
- Adair 21001
- Bath 21011
- Boone 21015
- Bourbon 21017
- Bracken 21023
- Breckinridge 21027
- Bullitt 21029
- Campbell 21037
- Carlisle 21039
- Carter 21043
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Edmonson 21061
- Estill 21065
- Fayette 21067
- Floyd 21071
- Gallatin 21077
- Garrard 21079
- Grayson 21085
- Greenup 21089
- Hardin 21093
- Harrison 21097
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Jessamine 21113
- Knox 21121
- Laurel 21125
- Lewis 21135
- Madison 21151
- McCreary 21147
- Menifee 21165
- Mercer 21167
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Oldham 21185
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Scott 21209
- Trimble 21223
- Warren 21227
- Wayne 21231
- Whitley 21235
- Wolfe 21237
- Woodford 21239
Louisiana view state ↗ 51 N ▾
- Allen 22003
- Assumption 22007
- Beauregard 22011
- Bienville 22013
- Bossier 22015
- Caddo 22017
- Calcasieu 22019
- Caldwell 22021
- Cameron 22023
- Catahoula 22025
- Claiborne 22027
- Concordia 22029
- De Soto 22031
- East Baton Rouge 22033
- East Carroll 22035
- East Feliciana 22037
- Evangeline 22039
- Franklin 22041
- Grant 22043
- Jackson 22049
- Jefferson 22051
- Jefferson Davis 22053
- Lafourche 22057
- LaSalle 22059
- Lincoln 22061
- Livingston 22063
- Madison 22065
- Morehouse 22067
- Natchitoches 22069
- Orleans 22071
- Ouachita 22073
- Plaquemines 22075
- Rapides 22079
- Red River 22081
- Richland 22083
- Sabine 22085
- St. Bernard 22087
- St. Charles 22089
- St. Helena 22091
- St. James 22093
- St. John the Baptist 22095
- St. Landry 22097
- St. Martin 22099
- St. Mary 22101
- St. Tammany 22103
- Tangipahoa 22105
- Tensas 22107
- Terrebonne 22109
- Union 22111
- Washington 22117
- West Carroll 22123
Maine view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 14 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 51 N ▾
- Alger 26003
- Arenac 26011
- Baraga 26013
- Bay 26017
- Berrien 26021
- Calhoun 26025
- Charlevoix 26029
- Chippewa 26033
- Clare 26035
- Crawford 26039
- Delta 26041
- Dickinson 26043
- Eaton 26045
- Emmet 26047
- Genesee 26049
- Grand Traverse 26055
- Gratiot 26057
- Houghton 26061
- Ingham 26065
- Ionia 26067
- Isabella 26073
- Kalamazoo 26077
- Kalkaska 26079
- Kent 26081
- Keweenaw 26083
- Lapeer 26087
- Leelanau 26089
- Livingston 26093
- Mackinac 26097
- Manistee 26101
- Marquette 26103
- Mason 26105
- Mecosta 26107
- Monroe 26115
- Montcalm 26117
- Montmorency 26119
- Muskegon 26121
- Newaygo 26123
- Ogemaw 26129
- Ontonagon 26131
- Osceola 26133
- Ottawa 26139
- Presque Isle 26141
- Roscommon 26143
- Sanilac 26151
- Schoolcraft 26153
- St. Clair 26147
- St. Joseph 26149
- Van Buren 26159
- Washtenaw 26161
- Wayne 26163
Minnesota view state ↗ 45 N ▾
- Aitkin 27001
- Anoka 27003
- Becker 27005
- Benton 27009
- Blue Earth 27013
- Carlton 27017
- Cass 27021
- Chippewa 27023
- Chisago 27025
- Clay 27027
- Clearwater 27029
- Cook 27031
- Crow Wing 27035
- Dakota 27037
- Douglas 27041
- Fillmore 27045
- Goodhue 27049
- Hennepin 27053
- Houston 27055
- Itasca 27061
- Jackson 27063
- Kanabec 27065
- Kittson 27069
- Lake 27075
- Lake of the Woods 27077
- Le Sueur 27079
- McLeod 27085
- Meeker 27093
- Mille Lacs 27095
- Morrison 27097
- Pine 27115
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Ramsey 27123
- Red Lake 27125
- Rock 27133
- St. Louis 27137
- Stearns 27145
- Steele 27147
- Todd 27153
- Wadena 27159
- Waseca 27161
- Washington 27163
- Winona 27169
- Wright 27171
Mississippi view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Montana view state ↗ 7 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 9 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 16 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 42 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Bronx 36005
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chemung 36015
- Chenango 36017
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Erie 36029
- Essex 36031
- Genesee 36037
- Greene 36039
- Hamilton 36041
- Herkimer 36043
- Jefferson 36045
- Kings 36047
- Lewis 36049
- Madison 36053
- Nassau 36059
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Ontario 36069
- Orange 36071
- Oswego 36075
- Otsego 36077
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
- Yates 36123
North Carolina view state ↗ 41 N ▾
- Alamance 37001
- Alleghany 37005
- Beaufort 37013
- Bertie 37015
- Brunswick 37019
- Carteret 37031
- Catawba 37035
- Craven 37049
- Duplin 37061
- Edgecombe 37065
- Franklin 37069
- Graham 37075
- Greene 37079
- Guilford 37081
- Haywood 37087
- Hertford 37091
- Jackson 37099
- Johnston 37101
- Jones 37103
- Lee 37105
- Madison 37115
- Martin 37117
- Mitchell 37121
- Moore 37125
- Northampton 37131
- Onslow 37133
- Orange 37135
- Pender 37141
- Pitt 37147
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Robeson 37155
- Rockingham 37157
- Sampson 37163
- Swain 37173
- Vance 37181
- Wake 37183
- Warren 37185
- Watauga 37189
- Wayne 37191
- Yancey 37199
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 67 N ▾
- Adams 42001
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Carbon 42025
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clarion 42031
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Crawford 42039
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Jefferson 42065
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Sullivan 42113
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 2 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 22 N ▾
- Aiken 45003
- Allendale 45005
- Bamberg 45009
- Barnwell 45011
- Beaufort 45013
- Berkeley 45015
- Calhoun 45017
- Charleston 45019
- Clarendon 45027
- Darlington 45031
- Dorchester 45035
- Edgefield 45037
- Georgetown 45043
- Greenwood 45047
- Hampton 45049
- Lancaster 45057
- Laurens 45059
- Marion 45067
- Orangeburg 45075
- Richland 45079
- Saluda 45081
- Williamsburg 45089
Tennessee view state ↗ 41 N ▾
- Blount 47009
- Bradley 47011
- Campbell 47013
- Carroll 47017
- Carter 47019
- Cheatham 47021
- Claiborne 47025
- Clay 47027
- Cocke 47029
- Cumberland 47035
- Davidson 47037
- Dickson 47043
- Fentress 47049
- Greene 47059
- Grundy 47061
- Hawkins 47073
- Haywood 47075
- Henry 47079
- Hickman 47081
- Jackson 47087
- Johnson 47091
- Knox 47093
- Lake 47095
- Lewis 47101
- Madison 47113
- Maury 47119
- McNairy 47109
- Meigs 47121
- Montgomery 47125
- Morgan 47129
- Overton 47133
- Pickett 47137
- Polk 47139
- Rutherford 47149
- Scott 47151
- Sevier 47155
- Stewart 47161
- Sullivan 47163
- Sumner 47165
- Washington 47179
- Wilson 47189
Vermont view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 82 N ▾
- Accomack 51001
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Arlington 51013
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Brunswick 51025
- Buckingham 51029
- Caroline 51033
- Carroll 51035
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Clarke 51043
- Culpeper 51047
- Cumberland 51049
- Dickenson 51051
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Floyd 51063
- Fluvanna 51065
- Frederick 51069
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Grayson 51077
- Greene 51079
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Hanover 51085
- Henrico 51087
- Henry 51089
- Highland 51091
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Lunenburg 51111
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Northampton 51131
- Nottoway 51135
- Orange 51137
- Page 51139
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince George 51149
- Prince William 51153
- Pulaski 51155
- Rappahannock 51157
- Richmond 51159
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Scott 51169
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Stafford 51179
- Suffolk (city) 51800
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Tazewell 51185
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
- Wise 51195
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 28 N ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Brooke 54009
- Cabell 54011
- Calhoun 54013
- Doddridge 54017
- Fayette 54019
- Gilmer 54021
- Hampshire 54027
- Hancock 54029
- Hardy 54031
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Mineral 54057
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Ohio 54069
- Pocahontas 54075
- Raleigh 54081
- Randolph 54083
- Ritchie 54085
- Taylor 54091
- Tucker 54093
- Upshur 54097
- Wayne 54099
- Webster 54101
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wyoming 54109
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/CAPE3 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3045880 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z