Cardamine concatenata - (image 1 of 6)
Taxonomy
Family: Brassicaceae
Habitat
Mesic woods.
Associates
Woody associates: Acer saccharum, Fraxinus americana, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Prunus serotina, Prunus virginiana, Quercus rubra, Ribes missouriense, Sambucus canadensis, Tilia americana, Ulmus americana, Vitis riparia.
Distribution
ME and southern Quebec west to MN, south to FL, LA, and OK.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial to 40 cm from a segmented rhizome. Leaves whorled, normally 3, each with 3 deeply lobed segments; leaf segments linear-oblong to lanceolate, the terminal sometimes deeply bifid. Flowers white to pale lavender, petals 4. Fruit a silique.
Notes
Flowers mid March to late May
Wetland indicator: Facultative Upland
Grows from a shallow, segmented, whitish rhizome said to have a pungent taste; can be mixed with salt and vinegar as a substitute for horseradish or eaten raw.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Peterson, L. A. 1977. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America.
Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, NY
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
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Michael Hough © 2004 |