Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)
Description of Hairy Bittercress:
Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a small, edible plant with a strong, peppery flavour.
It forms a rosette of small, green, rounded leaves growing in opposite pairs along the leaf stem, with one single, usually larger, terminal leaf at the end. The plant produces tiny, delicate, white, four-petaled flowers in small groups at the top of a vertical stem. The seed pods look like small green straight pea pods that turn red/brown as they mature.
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Common Names of Hairy Bittercress Plant:
Hairy Bittercress, Lambs Cress, Land Cress, Spring Cress, Hoary Bittercress, Shot Weed, Flick Weed.
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Habitat of Hairy Bittercress:
It can be found in various environments, including disturbed earth, cracks in pavements, open ground, turf, plant pots, and walls. It can grow in almost any tiny bit of soil it can find.
Food Uses - Hairy Bittercress:
All parts of the plant are edible and have a strong cress-like flavour. It is suitable for salads and is often used to add a peppery kick to dishes. The flower stalk can become woody, so it's best to focus on the leaves for culinary use.
Harvesting Hairy Bittercress:
Only the leaves are typically harvested. They may be small, but as they grow in groups, a few leaf stems from each plant in an area are usually sufficient for a meal.
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Additional Information about Hairy Bittercress:
Hairy Bittercress belongs to the Cardamine family, which includes several similarly flavoured edible plants. This plant is known to be the food source for butterflies, providing an early source of nectar for them. It has a rapid lifecycle, often seeding multiple generations per year, making it available for foraging throughout the year.
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Safety Note - Hairy Bittercress:
While it's generally not considered toxic, it could potentially be confused with other members of the Cardamine family or young Watercress (Nastertium Officinale), which should be cooked before consumption if growing in waterways in the UK.
Hairy Bittercress is a versatile and widely available edible plant, appreciated for its peppery taste in salads and other dishes.