Hairy Bittercress or Hoary Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

Plant Type: This is a non-native herbaceous plant, it is a annual which can reach 40cm in height (16inches). Stem glabrous.

Leaves: The leaves are alternate. Leaves can reach 8cm in length (3inches). Most leaves are basal all pinnately divided. Terminal leaflet reniform to rounded often with a few lobes. Petioles of stem leaves ciliate near base.

Flowers: The flowers have 4 Regular Parts and are up to 0.6cm wide (0.25 inches). They are white. Blooms first appear in early spring and continue into mid spring.

Habitat: Fields and lawns with moist sandy soil.

Range: Naturalized in most of the eastern U. S. from New York south to Alabama.

    
This European immigrant is naturalized in much of our area.

Similar Species: Virginia Winged Rockcress (Sibara virginica) has more leaf segaments which are more linear and a pubescent lower stem.

The leaves of Hoary Bittercress are milder than other cardamine species. They are edible raw or cooked and are commonly eaten across North America.