Cardamine maxima

Cardamine maxima is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae.

Taxonomy
Cardamine maxima was first described as Dentaria maxima by the English botanist Thomas Nuttall in 1818. The American botanist Alphonso Wood placed Dentaria maxima Nutt. in genus Cardamine in 1870. The name Cardamine maxima (Nutt.) Alph.Wood is widely used today.

Cardamine maxima is a member of the Cardamine concatenata alliance, a monophyletic group of eastern North American species that includes Cardamine angustata, Cardamine concatenata, Cardamine diphylla, Cardamine dissecta, Cardamine incisa, and Cardamine maxima. All members of the alliance were previously placed in genus Dentaria Tourn. ex L., which is now considered to be a synonym for Cardamine L.

Distribution and habitat
Cardamine maxima is native to eastern North America. Its range extends north to New Brunswick and Québec, south to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and west to Ontario and Wisconsin. It is known to occur in the following provinces and states:


 * Canada: New Brunswick, Ontario, Québec
 * United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin

In the United States, its distribution is centered in New York and western New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont).

Conservation
The global conservation status of Cardamine maxima is secure (G5). However, outside of New York (its center of distribution) it is uncommon (S3) at best.