of salt marshes as stated by Gleason and Cronquist (1963). Four collections 

 of this plant have been made in coastal Maine: two along the Cathance River 

 in Bowdoinham (region 2), one in Ocean Point, Lincoln County (region 2), and 

 one in Hancock County (regions 4 and 5; Crovello 1978). Unverified specimens 

 of Long's bitter cress were collected at Pine Point in Phippsburg (region 2), 

 and on Mt. Desert Island (region 5). It also has been collected in New 

 Hampshire, Massachusetts (where it was introduced), Connecticut, New Jersey, 

 Virginia, and the Carolinas (Crovello 1978). 



Long's bitter cress, C. longii , looks very much like extreme forms of C. 

 pensylvanica var. brittoniana Farw. , which is not as rare in Maine. Whether 

 C. Longii is a species has been questioned (personal communications from: H. 

 E. Ahles, University of Massachusetts Herbarium, Amherst, MA., February, 1978; 

 T. J. Crovello, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN., February, 1978; and 

 L. M. Eastman, botanist, Old Orchard Beach, ME., February, 1978). It may be a 

 form of C. pensylvanica , whose compound lower leaves drop off prematurely 

 leaving only the simple cauline leaves found on all the collected specimens. 

 Transplant experiments of C. longii and C. pensylvanica, followed by analysis 

 of the critical characters of their fruits, pedicels, and flowers, would help 

 evaluate the taxonomic status of this plant. 



Eastman (1976b), Ahles (in preparation ) , and Crovello (1978) reviewed the 

 distributional status of Long's bitter cress in Maine, New England, and North 

 America, respectively. Fernald (1917 and 1941) and Fassett (1928) commented 

 on its restricted distribution in Maine in the past. One station (occurrence) 

 of the species was found in Maine in 1972, which was located again by Eastman 

 and Delaney in 1976 (Eastman 1976b). This station is located along the 

 Cathance River near the River Bend Camps in Bowdoinham (region 2), and has 

 been designated a critical area by the Critical Areas Program of the Maine 

 State Planning Office. Another station was located upriver in Topsham in 1979 

 by biologists from the Critical Areas Program. 



The species was first described by Fernald (Eastman 1976b; and Crovello 1978) 

 based on collections made at the River Bend Camps in 1916. Fasset collected 

 the species from the Cathance River area in 1920, and from Centers Point, 

 Bowdoinham, in 1921. litis and Patman, in 1959, and Crovello, in 1975 

 (Crovello 1978), changed a specimen labelled Cardamine pensylvanica Muhl . 

 (which was originally collected from a small brook in Ocean Point, Lincoln 

 County, and identified by Fasset in 1925) to Cardamine longii . A second 

 specimen labelled Cardamine hirsuta L., which was collected in Hancock County, 

 by E. L. Rand in 1890, was similarly changed to C^ longii by Crovello (1978). 



Little biological information on C. longii is available. Reproduction is 

 sexual and the apetalous flowers are probably self-pollinated since mustard 

 pollen is heavy and is not easily transported by wind. Seeds are borne in 

 elastically dehiscing capsules (siliques). This method of dehiscence is found 

 only in this genus (personal communication from H. E. Ahles, University of 

 Massachusetts, Amherst, MA; November, 1979). 



Stream channeling, hydroelectric dams, plant collecting, and competition from 

 introduced weeds, are the major threats to this species. 



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