Cardamine californica and C. nuttallii
Mary Sue Ittner (Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:22:10 PDT)

I have refrained from commenting on the Cardamine threads since there
are so many posts lately and when I was the list administrator I
noticed that a lot of people starting dropping out when that happened
(and when people kept including all the previous messages which makes
it so hard for digest subscribers) which is also happening.

Nhu gave the link to the wiki Cardamine page with pictures of the
form of Cardamine californica I have in my garden. The flowers aren't
spectacular, but since it is one of the first wildflowers ever year
to appear I'm fond of it. But what I really love are the colorful
leaves, all different. It's a form that grows naturally in the
Mendocino Sonoma Coast (where I live.)
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

It does appear here and there in some parts of my often shady and
somewhat wild garden and then as Kathleen noted disappears for much
of the year. Where my biggest patch of it grows is under my redwoods
with these companions: Lilium martimum, Viola sempivirens,
Chlorogalum pomeridianum, Vaccinium ovatum, Dicentra formosa, and
Scoliopus bigelovii. Not far from this in an area that gets a bit but
not much more sun is some Trillium ovatum and some Maianthemum
stellatum. So this is a native area of my garden. It's the
Chlorogalum that is taking over (once I fenced it from the deer.) And
yes there is some pesty annual Cardamine there too and some
grasses. Strangely the Oxalis oregana that I planted there which is
usually found as a carpet under redwoods (where not a lot grows
easily) struggles in the same area.

Mary Sue