Brassicaceae

Purple bittercress

Cardamine purpurea Cham. & Schltdl.

Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Cardamine

Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants

Purple bittercress (Cardamine purpurea) — FlowerPhoto: Robbie Hannawacker, CC0, from iNaturalist

Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free

Common names

By language (4)

Arabic: حرف أرجواني
Armenian: Մանուշակագույն միջուկ
English: Purple bittercress
Russian: Сердечник пурпуровый, Сердечник пурпурный

Synonyms

Cardamine eschscholtziana Andrz. ex Ledeb.
Cardamine purpurea f. albiflora (Hultén) Cody
Cardamine purpurea var. albiflora Hultén
Cardamine purpurea var. albiflos Hultén
Cardamine purpurea var. lactiflora O.E.Schulz
Cardamine purpurea var. purpurea

Flowers

In flower: June to July (from 11 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Alaska: native, Canada: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Robbie Hannawacker, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Allan Harris, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Игорь Загребин, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: s3bastianjones, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Syd Cannings, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Allan Harris, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Cheryl McCleary-Catalano, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Shane Johnson, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Randal, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Michael A. Thaibinh, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: lauralaska66, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: s3bastianjones, CC0, from iNaturalist

More in Cardamine

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.