Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 20, 2026

Cardamine pentaphyllos

Cardamine pentaphyllos, the five-leaflet bitter-cress or showy toothwort, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to Western and Central Europe in Slovenia and Croatia. It is an herbaceous perennial, growing to 30–50 cm (12–20 in), with palmate leaves and racemes of purple, pink or white flowers in late Spring and early Summer.

Last revised
Jun 20, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
179 w
Citations
5
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Cardamine pentaphyllos
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Cardamine
Species:
C. pentaphyllos
Binomial name
Cardamine pentaphyllos

Cardamine pentaphyllos, the five-leaflet bitter-cress1 or showy toothwort, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to Western and Central Europe in Slovenia and Croatia. It is an herbaceous perennial, growing to 30–50 cm (12–20 in), with palmate leaves and racemes of purple, pink or white flowers in late Spring and early Summer.2

The Latin specific epithet pentaphyllos means "with five-lobed leaves".3 The feminine form pentaphylla is sometimes seen, but this is deemed incorrect.2

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.4

References

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  3. Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. ISBN 9781845337315.
  4. "RHS Plant Selector - Cardamine pentaphylla". Retrieved 15 April 2020.