Coral Root (Cardamine bulbifera)

Family: Brassicaceae or Cruciferae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Cardamine bulbifera is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen from May to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

pleasant mild cress-like flavour. — Leaves - raw or cooked.; A hot cress-like flavour.; Bulbils - raw or cooked.; They are rather small, about the size ofa lentil, but have a pleasant mild cress-like flavour.

Habitat & North American Range

Very local in woods, usually on calcareous soils, in Devon, S.E. England, the Chilterns and Ayr. A characteristic species of base-rich beech woodlands. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)