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bittercress
Scientific Name: Cardamine
Family: Brassicaceae
Category: Dicot
Growth:
Duration:
Other Names:
Hairy Bittercress: A Common Garden Resident
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a frequently encountered plant, known for its rapid life cycle and ability to thrive in various environments. This unassuming plant has a number of interesting characteristics that make it both a forager's delight and a gardener's challenge.
Considerations for Pets
- Hairy bittercress belongs to the Brassica family (cabbage family).
Considerations for Children
- The text mentions that the plant has seed pods.
Common and Scientific Names
- Scientific Name: Cardamine hirsuta
- Common Names: Hairy bittercress, pepperweed, shotweed, snapweed, Lamb's Cress, Land Cress, Spring Cress, Flick Weed, Hoary Bitter Cress.
Taxonomy and Nomenclature
- Family: Brassicaceae (also known as Cruciferae, or the Mustard Family)
Distribution and Habitat
- Native to Europe and Western Asia.
- Introduced and naturalized throughout much of the United States.
- Common throughout the British Isles.
- Found in open and cultivated ground, on rocks and walls, and along path-sides.
- Predominantly found on exposed earth, in gardens, and rocky areas.
Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits
- Annual or biennial plant.
- Small plant, typically 5-30cm tall.
- Winter or summer annual, depending on location.
- Stems can be 3-9 inches long, with leaves mostly on the lower portion.
- Has a basal rosette of dark green, pinnate leaves, sometimes hairy on top.
- Stems can be straight and hairless.
- Small white flowers.
- Seed pods are curved, narrow, and cylindrical.
Ecological Role
- Considered a weed that can invade thin areas of lawns and gardens.
- Can quickly spread due to a short life cycle (3-4 weeks) and seedheads capable of dispersing thousands of seeds.
Quirky Facts
- Snapweed is the common name of choice in British usage.
- Some find that the leaves have a cress-like smell when crushed.
Edibility and Uses
- Hairy bittercress is an edible weed.
- It is noted for being a spring green that is ready to eat.
- Can be used in dishes like risotto.
- Reported to contain vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, and antioxidants.
- Likely to contain goitrogens if eaten in large quantities.
Interactions with Other Organisms
- The text mentions that it is a weed in gardens.
Related Species
- Wavy Bittercress (Cardamine flexuosa) is a similar species.
- Lesser-Seeded Bittercress (Cardamine oligosperma).
- The key difference between Hairy Bittercress and Wavy Bittercress is that Wavy Bittercress has hairy stems and six stamens, unlike Hairy Bittercress that has hairless stems and four stamens.
Further Information
- BBC Gardeners' World Magazine is mentioned as a resource for removing Hairy Bittercress.