I have to admit I kind of like the sight of these little annual plants in early spring – they are one of the first to flower, and now in mid May they are already dispersing seed into the yard. This little plant is actually pretty much impossible to get rid of. You can pull it out of the soil, but if you let it go to seed (which I have done for a few years now) it will be there to greet you next spring.
Seeds are produced in large amounts, and they are disbursed by seed pods bursting which can set seed flying several yards. Even the merest touch will trigger this!
A better way to manage this may mean putting hairy bittercress on the table. The leaves are edible and apparently quite tasty – they would make a nice ingredient in a salad.
I found this recipe on petitchef.com:
Hairy Bittercress, Dandelion & Papaya Salad
Ingredients
- 2 ripe papayas
- 2 large handfuls of hairy bittercress
- 2 large handfuls of dandelion greens
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
Suggested Instructions:
Spoon out the papaya into a bowl, making sure to remove the seeds first!
Chop the hairy bittercress and dandelion greens and add to the bowl.
Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and a glug of olive oil. Toss and enjoy. The dish serves two people.
| Scientific name: | Cardamine hirsuta |
| Common name: | hairy bittercress |
| Other name: | common bittercress, snapweed, shotweed |
| Bloom time: | late winter to early spring |
| Color: | white to near white |
| Light requirements: | full sun to light shade |
| Zone: | N/A |
| Soil: | acidic to neutral |
| Water: | N/A |
| Origin: | Europe and Asia – INVASIVE |
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