Cardamine flexuosa With.

Cardamine species annual, biennials or perennial herbs. Rootstock slender, branched, taproot. Stem simple or branched, erect, prostrate or decumbent, glaucous or pubescent with simple hairs. Leaves rhizomal or basal, simple, ternate, in rosulate or not, base cuneate to auriculate, margin entire to sparsely dentate, apex acute to obtuse, glabrous or pubescent, petiolate to subsessile, cauline leaves alternate, rarely opposite, petiolate to sessile. Inflorescence racemes corymbs or panicles, terminal, many flowered, ebracteate. Flowers bisexual, bluish, white, mauve to pink, actinomorphic, pedicel erect, ascending, stout or slender, divaricate, elongated in fruit, sepals 4, erect, oblong to ovate, caducous, inner ones somewhat pouched, basal pair saccate or not, petals 4 or rarely absent, obovate-subspathulate, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse to emarginate, claw strongly differentiated or absent. Stamens 6 or rarely 4, equal, filaments subulate, not dilated, anthers oblong, nectar glands 4 confluent, lateral one annular or semiannular, median glands absent, 2 or rarely 4. ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, cylindrical, ovules 4-40, style usually distinct rarely obsolete, stigma capitate. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, compressed, to broadly linear to narrow, tapering near the base and apex, subcylindric, short, slightly curved, bilocular, valves papery, indistinctly midveined, dehiscing explosively, later spirally coiled. Seeds few to many, uniseriate, compressed, globose-ovoid, rarely winged, finely turberculate, mucilaginous or not when soaked, cotyledons accumbent.

Cardamine species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: January-August.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., wind dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Suberect or decumbent annual or biennial herbs, about 10-45 cm tall. Rootstock short, slender sparsely branched. Stem simple or sparsely branched, ascending, flexuous, pubescent with simple hairs or sometimes glabrous. Leaves cauline about 4-12, somewhat in rosulate, pinnatisect, imparapinnate linear oblong in outline, about 4-13 x 1.5-4 cm across, with 5-15 leaflets, ovate-suborbicular, oblanceolate-oblong, about 3-16 x 2-14 mm across, margin ciliate, undulate, apex subacute to obtuse, fleshy, sparsely hairy both above and beneath, lateral leaflets near the base smallest later ascending towards the apex, terminal leaflet ovate the largest, apex rounded, petiole about 1-5 cm long, becoming shorter towards the shoot. Inflorescence racemes subcorymbs, terminal, 6-25 flowered, ebracteate, about 2-15 cm long. Flowers bisexual, white or cream white, actinomorphic, about 3-4 mm across, pedicel erect, ascending, slender, divaricate, sepals 4, suberect, oblong-elliptic, caducous, margins usually membranous, basal pair not saccate, about 1.5-2.5 x 0.8-1 mm across , petals 4, obovate-spathulate, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse, about 3-4.5 x 1-1.8 mm across. Stamens 6 rarely 4, with 2 outer staminodes, filaments subulate, not dilated about 2-3 mm long, anthers oblong, about 0.5-1 mm long, nectar glands 4 confluent, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, cylindrical, ovules 16-40, style about 0.5-1.2 mm long, stigma capitate. Fruit siliqua, dehiscent, compressed, linear, tapering near the base and apex, subcylindric, short, erect or slightly curved, glabrous, valves torulose, indistinctly midveined, dehiscing explosively, about 1-3 x 0.07-0.09 cm across. Seeds 8-30, uniseriate, brown, not winged, compressed, globose-oblong, finely tuberculate, brown, cotyledons accumbent.

Cardamine species are susceptible to insect pests, virus, mildews and moulds.

Along stream sides and moist places, altitude 500-2500 m.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Leaves as used as vegetable, also eaten raw. Seeds and leaves used as medicine for skin diseases in Uttar Pradesh.