Cardamine amara

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The leaves are eaten raw and have a hot, cress-like flavour with a somewhat bitter edge. They are pleasant in small quantities in a salad and are available year-round in most years.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in humid places near springs. It grows in swamps and along shorelines.

Asia, Balkans, Britain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Slovakia,

How to Identify

A cabbage family herb. It keeps growing from year to year with runners. It grows 20-40 cm tall. The stems have a few branches. The leaves are along the stem and are alternate. The lower leaves have long stalks. The flowers are white and 1.5 cm across. They have 4 petals. The fruit are slim flat pods.

How to Grow

Easily grown in most moist soils. Prefers a moist humus rich soil in shade or semi-shade. Plants are hardy to at least -20°c. An invasive plant spreading freely by self-sowing, it is best suited to the wild garden. A polymorphic species.

Propagation: Sow seed outdoors in situ in a shady position in April.

Medicinal Uses

The plant is antiscorbutic, diuretic, and stimulant.

Other Uses

None known.

Cardamine amara, known as large bitter-cress, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial with upright, mostly unbranched, stems to 70 cm (28 in) tall, and leaves made up of between three and 13 leaflets. The flowers have petals that are 8–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and are generally white, although sometimes pink or purple. It is found in damp places.

Notes

There are about 150-180 Cardamine species. They are mostly in damp places in temperate regions. Many varieties are listed.

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