Dentaria maxima

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Dentaria maxima
Light:Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:1'
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Dentaria maxima (common name: large toothwort)

Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 weeks at 15°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame for the first two years, planting them out when dormant in late summer.

Division in early spring or after the plant dies down in the summer. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Cultivation: An easily grown plant, preferring a rich light moist soil and a shady position[2][1].

A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -20°c[3].

Range: Eastern N. America - Maine to Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Habitat: By woodland streams or on calcareous wooded slopes[4].

Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[5][6]. Pungent and acrid when first harvested, it is piled into a heap and then allowed to ferment for several days to sweeten and then boiled[5][7].

Medicinal: The root is stomachic[7].

Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Also Known As: Cardamine maxima. (Nutt.)Wood.

Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
  2. Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  3. Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
  4. Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
  6. Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.