The image, above, shows the full Lady's Smock plant(Cardamine pratensis), left, shown in full flower. Also
shown is a young plant, with leaves just emerging (top right) as
well as a close-up of a stem showing the leaves, bottom right..
| Common Name: Lady's Smock |
| Scientific Name: Cardamine pratensis |
| Other Names: Cuckoo Flower |
| Family: Cruciferae |
| Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, N. Asia and N. America. |
Physical Characteristics
Cardamine pratensis is a hardy Perennial plant, growing to 50cm (1 ft 8 in) by 30cm (1 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from April to June and its seeds ripen from May to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees, flies and lepidoptera. The plant is not self-fertile and is a noted wildlife attractant.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves, Flowers |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
|
 Known Hazards: None Known.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Ladys Smock along with all the Ladys Smock containing recipes presented on this site, with 0 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Ladys Smock as a major wild food ingredient.
Lady's Smock, Cardamine pratensis, (also known as Cuckoo Flower) is a perennial member of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family which is native to Europe, Northern Asia and North America and is a close relative of Hairy Bittercress. The plant germinates late spring and remains green throughout the winter months and is typically harvested the following spring. It flowers throughout the late spring and summer months. It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing some 40–60 cm tall, with pinnate leaves 5—12 cm long, each bearing 3—15 leaflets, each leaflet being about 1 cm long. The attractive pale pink flowers are borne in a corymb on wiry green stems (these are typically 10 to 30cm tall), soon followed by the seeds and often continuing to flower as the first seeds ripen. The seed are borne in siliquae which, as with many Brassica species, will burst explosively, often when touched, sending the seeds flying far from the parent plant. The plant is prized for its flowers (each about 2cm in diameter with four petals) and, as it is non-invasive, is often planted in gardens for its floral display.
Lady's Smock likes cool, damp, soil but will grow in most conditions. Because it remains green throughout the winter this is an important plant for the wild forager as it provides much-needed greens through the winter months though the best time to pick is during early spring. Indeed, during Medieval times the leaves and young shoots were gathered as a spring green and sold in markets. The plant is rather bitter nature, with a flavour reminiscent of watercress. The leaves, young stems and flowers (as well as stem and flower buds) are all edible. A few of the leaves and flowers make an interesting addition to salads or sandwiches, but the shoots should be blanched before serving to remove the worst of their bitterness.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Ladys Smock as a major wild food ingredient.
Lady's Smock, Cardamine pratensis, (also known as Cuckoo Flower) is a perennial member of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family which is native to Europe, Northern Asia and North America and is a close relative of Hairy Bittercress. The plant germinates late spring and remains green throughout the winter months and is typically harvested the following spring. It flowers throughout the late spring and summer months. It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing some 40–60 cm tall, with pinnate leaves 5—12 cm long, each bearing 3—15 leaflets, each leaflet being about 1 cm long. The attractive pale pink flowers are borne in a corymb on wiry green stems (these are typically 10 to 30cm tall), soon followed by the seeds and often continuing to flower as the first seeds ripen. The seed are borne in siliquae which, as with many Brassica species, will burst explosively, often when touched, sending the seeds flying far from the parent plant. The plant is prized for its flowers (each about 2cm in diameter with four petals) and, as it is non-invasive, is often planted in gardens for its floral display.
Lady's Smock likes cool, damp, soil but will grow in most conditions. Because it remains green throughout the winter this is an important plant for the wild forager as it provides much-needed greens through the winter months though the best time to pick is during early spring. Indeed, during Medieval times the leaves and young shoots were gathered as a spring green and sold in markets. The plant is rather bitter nature, with a flavour reminiscent of watercress. The leaves, young stems and flowers (as well as stem and flower buds) are all edible. A few of the leaves and flowers make an interesting addition to salads or sandwiches, but the shoots should be blanched before serving to remove the worst of their bitterness.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Ladys Smock recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 0 recipes in total:
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Page 1 of 1