The image, above, shows the full hairy bittercress plant(Cardamine hirsuta), both in flower. The left hand plant
is growing in a rocky environment and the right hand plant is
growing on the side of a stream..
| Common Name: Hairy Bittercress |
| Scientific Name: Cardamine hirsuta |
| Other Names: Bittercress, Land-cress, Wild Cress and Lamb's Cress |
| Family: Brassicaceae |
| Range: Most of the northern Hemisphere, including Britain. |
Physical Characteristics
Cardamine hirsuta is a hardy Annual plant, growing to 30cm (1 ft) by 15cm (6 in) in size. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from April to August and the seeds ripen from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are self-pollinated. The plant is self-fertile.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves, Flowers |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: None Known.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Hairy Bittercress along with all the Hairy Bittercress containing recipes presented on this site, with 2 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Hairy Bittercress as a major wild food ingredient.
Hairy Bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta, (also known as bittercress, land-cress, wild cress and lamb's cress) is a winter annual member of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family which is native to Europe and Asia (though it has been introduced as a weed to North America). The plant germinates in the Autumn and remains green throughout the winter months. It flowers from quite early in the Spring until the Autumn. The small white flowers are borne in a corymb on wiry green stems, soon followed by the seeds and often continuing to flower as the first seeds ripen. The seed are borne in siliquae which, as with many Brassica species, will burst explosively, often when touched, sending the seeds flying far from the parent plant.
Hairy bittercress likes damp, freshly-disturbed soil and thus grows extensively as a weed in gardens. Because it remains green throughout the winter this is an important plant for the wild forager as it provides much-needed greens through the winter month though the best time to pick is during January and February. The plant is, as its name suggests, bitter in flavour and benefits from being gently wilted in heavily-salted water. This tempers the bitterness and yields a vegetable somewhat reminiscent of cauliflower greens.
The young leaves can be added sparingly to salads as a garnish. The flowers are also edible and can be used as a garnish.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Hairy Bittercress as a major wild food ingredient.
Hairy Bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta, (also known as bittercress, land-cress, wild cress and lamb's cress) is a winter annual member of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family which is native to Europe and Asia (though it has been introduced as a weed to North America). The plant germinates in the Autumn and remains green throughout the winter months. It flowers from quite early in the Spring until the Autumn. The small white flowers are borne in a corymb on wiry green stems, soon followed by the seeds and often continuing to flower as the first seeds ripen. The seed are borne in siliquae which, as with many Brassica species, will burst explosively, often when touched, sending the seeds flying far from the parent plant.
Hairy bittercress likes damp, freshly-disturbed soil and thus grows extensively as a weed in gardens. Because it remains green throughout the winter this is an important plant for the wild forager as it provides much-needed greens through the winter month though the best time to pick is during January and February. The plant is, as its name suggests, bitter in flavour and benefits from being gently wilted in heavily-salted water. This tempers the bitterness and yields a vegetable somewhat reminiscent of cauliflower greens.
The young leaves can be added sparingly to salads as a garnish. The flowers are also edible and can be used as a garnish.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Hairy Bittercress recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 2 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| A Messe of Greens Origin: Britain | Suya Beef Heart Curry with Beans and Wild Greens Origin: Fusion |
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