Index / Search / Cardamine oligosperma

§1 Plant

Cardamine oligosperma Nutt.

vernacular little western bittercress — species · Brassicaceae

USDA: CAOL
GBIF: 3046228
Rank: species

little western bittercress (Cardamine oligosperma) — Platephotograph · Don LoarieCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Duration: Annual, Biennial, Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Brassicaceae Burnett
Genus: Cardamine

§2a

Native status, by region

AK Alaska Native
CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 138 counties across 10 states/territories

Legend Native · 138 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: None
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -23 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 60 min.
Precipitation: 14–50 in/yr
pH range: 5.5–7
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: High
Soil texture: medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Crown
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 1.7 ft
Foliage texture: Fine
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Porous
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: White
Fruit colour: Black
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Early Spring
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Spring
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Moderate
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 275,000
Propagation: seed

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: No Known Source
Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Low
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 138 counties across 10 states/territories.

Alaska view state ↗ 20 N ▾

California view state ↗ 35 N ▾

Colorado view state ↗ 5 N ▾

Idaho view state ↗ 10 N ▾

Montana view state ↗ 3 N ▾

Nevada view state ↗ 2 N ▾

Oregon view state ↗ 23 N ▾

Utah view state ↗ 8 N ▾

Washington view state ↗ 27 N ▾

Wyoming view state ↗ 5 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CAOL ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3046228 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z