Cardamine pratensis

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Wiesenschaumkraut (Cardamine pratensis)-20200416-RM-095356.jpg

| genus = Cardamine

| species = pratensis

| authority = L.

| synonyms = * Cardamine dentata Schult.

}}

Cardamine pratensis, the cuckoo flower, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial herb native to Eurasia.

Description

Cardamine pratensis is a herbaceous, hairless,Webb, D.A., Parnell, J. and Doogue, D. An Irish Flora 1996. Dundalgan Press, Dundalk. {{ISBN|0-85221-131-7}} perennial plant growing to {{Convert|60|cm}} tall,{{Cite book |last=Francis-Baker |first=Tiffany |title=Concise Foraging Guide |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4729-8474-6 |series=The Wildlife Trusts |location=London |pages=64}} with pinnate leaves {{Convert|5–12|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long with 3–15 leaflets, each leaflet about 1 cm long. The flowers are produced on a spike {{Convert|10–30|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} long, each flower 1–2 cm in diameter with four very pale violet-pink (rarely white) petals.{{Verification needed|date=December 2024}} The fruit is a seed pod up to {{Convert|5|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}}. It grows best close to water.

Etymology

The specific name pratensis is Latin for "from/of the meadow".

Its common name cuckoo flower derives from the formation of the plant's flowers at around the same time as the arrival each spring of the first cuckoos in the British Isles.{{Cite web|title = Lady's Smock {{!}} Wildflowers {{!}} Wildlife |url = http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/ladys-smock|website = www.wildlifetrusts.org|access-date = 2016-10-10}} An alternative 16th century dated tale refers to 'cuckoo spit', which the plant is sometimes covered in, due to a bug called the froghopper and not the cuckoo.{{cite book |year=1981 |title=Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain |page=57 |publisher=Reader's Digest |isbn=978-0-276-00217-5 }}

Distribution

The species is widespread in Europe and commonly found throughout the British Isles.Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-04656-4}}

Recorded in Ireland from all 40 of the "vice-counties" (a system adopted by Robert Lloyd Praeger in 1901).Scannell, M.J.P and Synnott, D.M. 1972. Census Catalogue of the Flora of Ireland. Dublin

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 Anthocharis cardamines (the orange-tip butterfly).{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Uses

The plant is edible with a peppery taste similar to watercress.

In culture

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

It is the county flower of the English county of Cheshire.{{Cite web|title = Cuckooflower {{!}} Plant & fungi species {{!}} Wild plants|url = http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/plant_species/cuckooflower/|website = www.plantlife.org.uk|access-date = 2016-10-10|archive-date = 2017-01-03|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170103135203/http://www.plantlife.org.uk/wild_plants/plant_species/cuckooflower|url-status = dead}}

Gallery

File: Blume in Wildbad 07.jpg |Cardamine pratensis in Bavaria, Germany

File:Cuckoo flower Wiltshire.JPG|Cardamine pratensis growing in Wiltshire, UK

Image:Cardamine pratensis.jpg|Details of flowers

Image:Cardamine pratensis 10.JPG|Buds of a Cardamine pratensis

File:Illustration Cardamine pratensis0.jpg|Botanical illustration from Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany

File:Cardamine pratensis řeřišnice luční 1.jpg|Flowers

File:Cardamine pratensis řeřišnice luční 2.jpg|Plants

File:Pinksterbloem.jpg|Flowers, pinker variety

File: Cardamine pratensis 2.JPG|Seedling