Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

TOOTHWORT

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Cardamine concatenata (Michx. ) Sw.

[=Dentaria laciniata Muhl. ex Willd.]

Johnson County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 6-16 inches

Family: Brassicaceae - Mustard Family

Flowering Period: April

Also Called:

Cut-leaf toothwort, toothcup.

Stems:

Erect, single, slender, unbranched, glabrous, often somewhat pubescent above.

Leaves:

Alternate or in whorls of 3; basal leaves long-stalked, 3-foliolate, 5.1 to 12 inches long, often absent at lowering; stem leaves short-stalked, deeply palmately divided nearly to base or compound; segments 3-5, linear or lanceolate, 1.6 to 4.8 inches long, mostly glabrous; margins coarsely toothed.

Inflorescences:

Raceme, usually 6-15-flowered.

Flowers:

Sepals 4, in 2 opposite pairs, ascending, oblong, 1/5 to 1/3 inch long, green, occasionally pinkish; base often bag-shaped; tip rounded to sometimes pointed; petals 4, diagonal to sepals, 2/5 to 4/5 inch long, white, pale lavender, or pale pink.

Fruits:

Pods, linear, 4/5 to 1.8 inches long, 1/12 to 1/10 inch wide, straight, slightly compressed, tapering to slender beak; seeds oblong, about 1/10 inch long, somewhat flattened, orange-brown, in 1 row in each compartment.

Habitat:

Rich, moist woods, lower wooded slopes.

Distribution:

East 1/3 of Kansas.

Origin:

Native

Uses:

The Iroquois ate the roots raw or boiled, used the roots to treat colds and to stimulate appetites, applied a poultice of crushed root to headaches, and placed the roots in their pocket to attract women. Pioneers used the roots for seasoning in soups, stews, and meat dishes. The root is said to have a radish-like taste.

Comments:

Toothwort is one of our earliest-blooming woodland plants. The flowers only partially open on overcast days. The common name may allude to the tooth-like shape of the tuberous rhizomes or because they were sometimes used to treat toothaches.

Toothwort