Cardamine pratensis

Cardamine pratensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Brassicaceae
Genus:	Cardamine
Species:	C. pratensis
Binomial name
Cardamine pratensis L.

Cardamine pratensis (Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock), is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia.

Description

Cardamine pratensis is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40-60 cm tall, with pinnate leaves 5-12 cm long with 3-15 leaflets, each leaflet about 1 cm long. The flowers are produced on a spike 10-30 cm long, each flower 1-2 cm diameter with four pale pink (rarely white) petals. It grows best close to water.

Cultivation

It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, and has become naturalised in North America as a result of cultivation. In some European countries, including parts of Germany, the plant is now under threat.

It is a food plant for the orange tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) and makes a valuable addition to any garden which aims at attracting wildlife. It was once used as a substitute for Watercress.

Folklore

In folklore it was said to be sacred to the fairies, and so was unlucky if brought indoors. It was not included in May day garlands for the same reason.^[1]

Gallery

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  Cardamine pratensis growing in Wiltshire, UK

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  Details of flowers

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  Buds of a Cardamine pratensis

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  Flowers

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  Plants

Notes

1. ^ Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies, (Century, 1987); p

References

• Blanchan, Neltje (2002). Wild Flowers: An Aid to Knowledge of our Wild Flowers and their Insect Visitors. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. 

This Brassicales article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Cardamine Medicinal plants Flora of Western Asia Flora of Europe Flora of Portugal Flora of China Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Flora of Denmark Flora of Ireland Flora of Norway Flora of the United Kingdom Flora of the Czech Republic Flora of Lithuania Flora of Latvia Flora of Greece Flora of Italy Flora of France Flora of Spain Flora of Greenland Brassicales stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Amedeo Carboni Tracheole Look at other dictionaries: Cardamine pratensis — Cardamine des prés Cardamine des prés …   Wikipédia en Français Cardamine pratensis —   Cardamine pratensis …   Wikipedia Español Cardamine pratensis — Wiesen Schaumkraut Wiesen Schaumkraut (Cardamine pratensis) Systematik Klasse: Dreifurchenpollen Zw …   Deutsch Wikipedia Cardamine pratensis — Lady s smock La dy s smock . (Bot.) A plant of the genus {Cardamine} ({Cardamine pratensis}); cuckoo flower. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Cardamine pratensis — Cuckooflower Cuck oo*flow er ( flou ?r), n. (Bot.) A species of {Cardamine} ({Cardamine pratensis}), or lady s smock. Its leaves are used in salads. Also, the ragged robin ({Lychnis Flos cuculi}). [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Cardamine pratensis — ID 14328 Symbol Key CAPR3 Common Name cuckoo flower Family Brassicaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Native to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution AK, CT, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WI, WV …   USDA Plant Characteristics Cardamine pratensis L. — многол.; V–VI Сем. Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) – Крестоцветные 129. Род Cardamine L. – Сердечник 282. Сердечник луговой Берега водоемов, сырые пойменные и водораздельные луга. Довольно часто, по видимому, по всему заповеднику …   Флора Центрально-лесного государственного заповедника Cardamine pratensis var. pratensis — ID 14332 Symbol Key CAPRP Common Name cuckoo flower Family Brassicaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Native to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution AK, CT, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WI, WV …   USDA Plant Characteristics Cardamine pratensis var. angustifolia — ID 14329 Symbol Key CAPRA Common Name cuckoo flower Family Brassicaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Native to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution AK Growth Habit Forb/herb Duration …   USDA Plant Characteristics Cardamine pratensis L. — Symbol CAPR3 Common Name cuckoo flower Botanical Family Brassicaceae …   Scientific plant list 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”