# Pennsylvania Bittercress (*Cardamine pensylvanica*)

Pennsylvania Bittercress is a small plant with pretty white flowers. It often grows in wet places and can be found in gardens and fields. This plant is a favorite for little critters like bees and butterflies!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 1
- **Habitat:** Wetlands

![Pennsylvania Bittercress](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Cardamine_pensylvanica.jpg&width=800)

Photo: USGS - Midwestern Wetland Flora, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cardamine_pensylvanica.jpg)

## Appearance

The Pennsylvania Bittercress is a small, slender plant featuring delicate clusters of tiny white flowers at the tip of its green stems. Its leaves are deeply lobed or toothed, forming a basal rosette and alternating up the stem, giving it a somewhat lacy and delicate appearance.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Brassicales
- **Family:** Brassicaceae
- **Genus:** Cardamine

## Interesting facts

- It's a cousin to broccoli and cabbage, belonging to the mustard family!
- It's a wild edible often used in salads and sandwiches by foragers!
- The plant gets its name 'bittercress' from its slightly peppery taste!
- The tiny seeds can be surprisingly spicy, like a miniature mustard seed!

## Special abilities

- **Explosive Seeds:** Pennsylvania Bittercress can shoot its tiny seeds away from the plant when ripe, helping them spread far and wide to new places!
- **Quick Sprouter:** Pennsylvania Bittercress has a speedy growth cycle, allowing it to quickly establish and flower in disturbed or open areas.
- **Nutrient Hoarder:** Pennsylvania Bittercress can efficiently absorb various nutrients from the soil, helping it thrive in diverse environments.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 10-40 cm
- **Spread:** 5-20 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.2-0.5 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Spring-early summer
- **Edible:** Yes
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Annual
- **Pollination Method:** Insect

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** Small Cabbage White butterfly (*Pieris rapae*) — Caterpillars feed on leaves.
- **Pollinates:** European Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Visits flowers for nectar and pollen.
- **Eaten by:** Crucifer flea beetle (*Phyllotreta cruciferae*) — Adult beetles feed on leaves, leaving small holes.
- **Eaten by:** Grey field slug (*Deroceras reticulatum*) — Slugs graze on leaves and young stems.

## Traits

- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Biennial](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/biennial): Biennial plants complete their life cycle over two growing seasons, typically forming foliage in the first year and flowering/seeding in the second.
- [Spring Blooming](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/spring-blooming): Spring blooming plants produce their flowers during the spring season, often signifying the end of winter and the start of new growth.
- [Fragrant Flower](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/fragrant-flower): Fragrant flowers emit a pleasant aroma, often to attract pollinators or for defense.
- [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.
- [Wetland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/wetland): This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Always look but don't touch plants unless a grown-up says it's okay.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Pennsylvania Bittercress?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Pennsylvania Bittercress?

10-40 cm

### How wide does Pennsylvania Bittercress spread?

5-20 cm

### How big are the flowers on Pennsylvania Bittercress?

0.2-0.5 cm

### When does Pennsylvania Bittercress bloom?

Spring-early summer

### Is Pennsylvania Bittercress edible?

Yes

### Is Pennsylvania Bittercress toxic?

None

### What is Pennsylvania Bittercress's lifecycle?

Annual

## Where to spot

- [Mohawk Trail](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/mohawk-trail) — Massachusetts, US · Trail

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Pennsylvania Bittercress: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/pennsylvania-bittercress)