Cardamine impatiens L.

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: March--July.

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.

Erect biennial herbs, about 15-75 cm tall. Rootstock slender sparsely branched taproot with many fibrous hairs. Stem usually simple at the base, sparsely branched above, grooved, ascending, sometimes flexuous, glabrous and pubescent with simple hairs at the base. Basal leaves cauline crowded at the base, in rosulate, dried or withered during the time of flowering, about 12-18 in a stem, alternate in the middle and above, variable, pinnatisect, imparapinnate, linear oblanceolate-obovate outline, about 4-18 x 1.5-5 cm across, petiole about 1-2.5 cm long, with 9-21 variable leaflets, lanceolate-ovate to oblanceolate-oblong, about 4-15 x 2-8 mm across, margin ciliate, obscurely 2-6 lobed or toothed, undulate, apex acute, subacute with mucronate tip, sparsely hairy or glabrous both above and beneath, lateral leaflets near the base smallest ascending towards middle and again becoming slightly smaller, terminal leaflet orbicular-ovate, apex acute or subacute, petiolules about 2-5 mm long. Inflorescence racemes, 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, about 4-7 mm long, sepals 4, suberect, oblong, caducous, green or pale purple, margins usually membranous, basal pair not saccate, about 1.2-2.5 x 0.8-1 mm across across, petals 4, obovate-oblanceolate, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse, about 1.5-4.5 x 0.8-1.2 mm across. Stamens 6, filaments subulate, not dilated about 3-4 mm long, anthers oblong, about 0.3-0.6 mm long, ovary superior, bicarpellary, syncarpous, cylindrical, ovules 12-36, 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, laterally spirally coiled, about 1.5-3 x 0.08-0.1 cm across. Seeds 8-20, uniseriate, brown, not winged or rarely apically winged, compressed, globose-oblong, finely tuberculate, brown, cotyledons accumbent.

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

Moist slopes and streams sides of the forests, altitude 500-4000 m.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Used in folk medicine.