This association, dominated by Cardamine amara subsp. opicii, occurs in springs and on stream banks in the subalpine belt or in the canopy openings of montane spruce forest. Species richness is negatively related to the cover degree of C. a. subsp. opicii, which can also strongly suppress the moss layer. The association occurs throughout the whole of the Carpathians and reaches its western distribution limit in the Hrubý Jeseník and Králický Sněžník Mountains.