Milkmaids (Cardamine californica) Login         


        Description
  • CA Bloom Jan - May
  • These bright white flowers bloom early, starting in January.
  • Each flower is about 1/2" across, with 4 petals.
  • Petals fold at night and when it rains.
  • It's locally common in moist, shaded areas.
  • CA native. Found from Washington to Baja.
  • AKA Bitter Cress, California Toothwort
  • Mustard Family (Brassicaceae)



Four white petals form a flat cross. Stamens and a pistil form a tight bunch in a yellow-green center.



Leaves near the ground are fairly round, like the top of a milkmaid's stool.


Leaves higher up are deeply cut and pointy. Flowers group loosely near the top of the stem.

   Photo Gallery (89 ) click any picture to enlarge
    

Milkmaids is locally common in shady places, blooming as early as January. Its bright white flowers, with four flat petals, form a cluster at the ...
Milkmaids grow from fleshy, tuber-like [[rhizomes]] that can be deeply buried.
Early leaves are roundish, thick and horizontal, looking like a milkmaid's stool. They don't grow from the stem but directly from the underground ...
Veins sometimes extend just beyond the leaf margin, making short [[spines]].
Stem leaves are divided into 3 or 5 [[leaflets]]. Each leaflet is variously shaped, following the Mustard Family's penchant for growing random "finge ...
Six male [[anthers]] and a central female [[stigma]] crowd together at the center of the flower. Pollinators brush past them to get to nectar at ...