About Cardamine corymbosa Hook.f.
Joseph Dalton Hooker first scientifically described Cardamine corymbosa Hook.f., commonly called New Zealand bittercress, noting it is a small, very distinct species of Cardamine that is wiry and fragile in all parts. This plant has a low, spreading growth habit, with unbranched stems that creep along the ground. It produces new daughter plants by rooting at stem nodes. Its basal compound leaves hold three to five leaflets, and the terminal leaflet can grow up to twice as large as the lateral leaflets. New Zealand bittercress is native to New Zealand’s subantarctic Auckland and Campbell Islands, and Australia’s Macquarie Island, where it grows in alpine tundra and rocky coastal habitats. It has been accidentally introduced to other regions worldwide, including North America and Europe, where it grows as a weed of nursery crops cultivated in polytunnels.
