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Cardamine amara

Common name:	Large Bittercress	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Most of Europe, including Britain, north to 64° N., east to the Balkans and W. Asia.
Habitat:	By springs, in fens and on streamsides, preferring a peaty soil[17]. Often found in trickling water[187]. Often the dominant ground flora in alder woods with moving damp water[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bittere Veldkers [D], Crescione Amare [E], Cressen [E], Cresson Amer [E], Large Bitter-cress [L], Large Bittercress [E], Larger Bittercress [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	amara = bitter
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	France Germany Italy Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, beetles and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw[2, 61, 115]. A hot cress-like flavour[183], nice in small quantities in a salad and available all year round in most years[K]. A somewhat bitter flavour[9].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiscorbutic Diuretic Stimulant.

Antiscorbutic, diuretic, stimulant[132].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in most moist soils[187]. Prefers a moist humus rich soil in shade or semi-shade[200].
Plants are hardy to at least -20° c[187].
An invasive plant spreading freely by self-sowing, it is best suited to the wild garden[187].
A polymorphic species[132].

Propagation

Seed - sow outdoors in situ in a shady position in April.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth.
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Cardamine+amara
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