Bitter Cress

Description:

Most people refer to Bittercress as common lawn weed and many gardeners go out of their way to rid their pristine lawns of their existence. Like many other "weeds", Bittercress is native to Europe and Asia and as a member of the mustard family, it tends to have a bitter, acrid taste like most other members of the mustard family. It tends to flower in North America from Spring to Autumn and it produces small white flowers and long finger like seed pods. When the seed pods are ready to disperse the seed, they explode out of the casing with any contact which is an evolutionary trait that probably benefited the likelihood of offspring spreading.

Habitat:

This plant likes to grow in disturbed ground and moist earth.

Notes:

Bittercress is a green commonly eaten by foragers and has bitter taste as the name suggests but tere are 4 endangered species of Cardamine so double check before picking. It also has medicinal properties because it can help with headaches, colds, and has slight hallucinogenic properties. Elizabeth Green