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]

Chinese: sui mi ji

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: berro, 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 Papua New Guinea, "a weed of gardens, nursery beds and house-yards in wet localities"  (Henty & Pritchard, 1975; p. 93).  In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe assez répandue par endroits frais en jardins et pépinières" (MacKee, 1994; p. 44).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Medium altitude up to the timber line; low altitude, interior valleys; coastal mountains, 500-2000 m; coastal areas, 0 - 500 m.  Humid areas, with almost constant rainfall. Short dry periods are possible (generally not longer than 1 month). Somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 3-5 months. Precipitations of 400-800 mm. are concentrated in winter. Fully exposed to the sun. Level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

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)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Cuevas, Jaime G./Marticorena, Alicia/Cavieres, Lohengrin A. (2004) (p. 535) Voucher cited: JF 62
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 552)
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)	invasive	Henty, E. E./Pritchard, G. H. (1975) (p. 93) Common in some localities at both low and median altitudes.
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. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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. (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 155)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Belov, Michail (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Mountain slopes, roadsides, fields, clearings, wastelands, damp places, grassy areas; near sea level to 3000 m".
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 183)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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
Photos and other information from Chileflora.

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:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Cuevas, Jaime G./Marticorena, Alicia/Cavieres, Lohengrin A. 2004. New additions to the introduced flora of the Juan Fernández Islands: origin, distribution, life history traits, and potential of invasion. Revista Chilene de Histora Natural 77:523-538.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

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

Henty, E. E./Pritchard, G. H. 1975. Weeds of New Guinea and their control. 2nd edition. Department of Forests, Division of Botany, Botany Bull. No. 7. Lae, Papua New Guinea. 180 pp.

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

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

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. 2011. 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.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).