Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Narrowleaf Bittercress - Cardamine impatiens   L.
Members of Brassicaceae:
Members of Cardamine with account distribution info or public map:
Google Images
Section 6 » Order Capparales » Family Brassicaceae
Show/Hide Synonym
AuthorL.
DistributionThere are 2 locations of strays in NC, both in Alleghany County and both along the New River. First collected there in 1985 by Frosty Levy, then in 2006 by Derick Poindexter. A specimen from Chatham County (at NCSC) needs an ID check; it may represent C. flexuosa/occulta.

Native of Eurasia; in N.A. NH to Ont. and MN, south to NC and KY.
AbundanceVery rare.
HabitatRiver banks.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting May-July.
IdentificationNarrowleaf Bittercress is very distinctive in its fernlike leaves that are cut into 13 or more leaflets. Each leaflet is shallowly to deeply lobed. In addition, each leaf has backward-pointing, arrowlike lobes that clasp the stem.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpFAC link
USACE-empFAC link
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
Select a source
AllHerbaria
Select an occurrence type
AllCollection_non_natural