Cardamine sp.
Bitter cress
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Wikimedia Commons - Philiptdotcom
Wikimedia Commons - Philiptdotcom
wikimedia · cc-by-sa
Wikimedia Commons - Ryan Hodnett
Wikimedia Commons - Ryan Hodnett
What to Eat
Edible parts: Flowers, Leaves
Both the leaves and flowers can be eaten.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. C. africana tends to be above 1500 m and C. hirsuta is often at lower altitudes. They grow naturally especially in moist shaded places around gardens.
Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG,
Countries: Australia, Fiji, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Samoa
How to Identify
A cabbage family herb. Probably Cardamine africana L. or maybe Cardamine hirsuta L. A small annual plant which grows up to about 20 cm tall. The flowers have white petals and the pods are 2-3 cm long. (C. africana has thicker pods [3 mm] and 3 leaflets on the leaves. C hirsuta has pods about 1 mm thick and about 7 leaflets per leaf.
How to Grow
Plants are self sown from seed.
Notes
There are about 160 Cardamine species. They are mostly in damp places in temperate regions.
References (1)
- French, B.R., 1986, Food Plants of Papua New Guinea, A Compendium. Asia Pacific Science Foundation p 324
