Cardamine hirsuta L., Brassicaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bitter cress, common bitter cress, hairy bitter cress, hoary bitter cress, wavy bitter cress

French: cardamine hirsute, cardamine pennée, cardamine poilue, cardamine velue, cressonette

Spanish: mastuerzo amargo, mastuerzo de prado, mastuerzo menor, mastuerzo velloso

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual herb. Rhizomes 0. Stems often many from base of plant, suberect, glabrous, straight, green or purplish, 10-25-(40) cm tall. Leaves thin, green, sparsely hairy above and sometimes on petiole. Rosette leaves pinnate, petiolate; terminal leaflet circular, bluntly lobed, truncate to cordate, slightly > laterals; lateral leaflets in (1)-2-3-(4) pairs, ovate, bluntly lobed to entire, truncate to cordate and ± unequal at base; petiolules < leaflets. Cauline leaves pinnate, petiolate; terminal leaflet = to slightly > laterals, obovate to narrow-oblanceolate, cuneate, entire to bluntly lobed; lateral leaflets in 2-3 pairs, obovate, becoming narrow-oblanceolate, truncate becoming cuneate at base, bluntly lobed to entire; petiolules short. Inflorescence. racemose, straight, glabrous, (5)-10-15 cm long. Pedicels glabrous, erecto-patent, (4)-6-10-(13) mm long at fruiting. Sepals sparsely hairy, purplish, pinkish or green, 1-2 x 0.4-0.6 mm; margins scarious. Petals white, erect, spathulate, 2-3 x 0.5-0.8 mm. Stamens 4-(6). Silique pale yellowish green, rarely with purplish valves, erect, (10)-15-20-(25) x 1-1.3 mm; valves glabrous or hairy; style c. 0.5 mm long. Seeds reddish brown, broad-oblong, very narrowly winged, c. 1 mm long"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 412).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe assez répandue par endroits frais en jardins et pépinières" (MacKee, 1994; p. 44).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Macaronesia, Europe, Africa, Asia (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 8) "A recently arrived garden weed, in outdoor flower pots and in moist situations". Voucher cited: R.O. Gardner 5788 (AK)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 403) Voucher cited: University of Hawaii Student s.n. (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 403)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 44) Vouchers cited: MacKee 13327, MacKee 21678, MacKee 22536, MacKee 31823, MacKee 33107
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 155)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 412) "Weed of cultivation, waste places and bush remnants".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 108)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 157)

Additional information:
Information from HDRA Organic Weed Management
|Information from Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide

Additional online information about Cardamine hirsuta is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Cardamine hirsuta as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Cardamine hirsuta may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.