Short Description
The cuckoo flower can grow to a height of 60 cm.
The leaves alternate on the stem. One leaf consists of several leaflets with a terminal leaflet at the tip (unequally pinnate, feather-like appearance). The individual leaflets are rounded to lance-shaped.
The stem is upright and not branched. Its lower sections are generally sparsely haired.
The flowers are clustered at the end of a botryoidal (shaped like a bunch of grapes) flower head. They are white to pale purple with four petals. At the centre of each flower are four long and two shorter stamens.
The fruits are long narrow pods that grow upwards on stalks below the flower.
Features
Cuckoo flower
Cardamine pratensis
large petals with yellow anthers
hollow stem with pinnate leaves
In the city
In an urban environment, the cuckoo flower can be found on fresh to moist nutrient-rich meadows, but also in sparse deciduous forests and in gardens. The draining of wet sites in the course of urban development makes it likely that the cuckoo flower will become rarer in towns.
Fun Facts
In folk medicine, an infusion (tea) of cuckoo flower is used in the treatment of rheumatism.
There are varieties of cuckoo flower with filled flowers that were cultivated as ornamental plants.
The flowers are an important food source for sand bees and the caterpillars of the orange tip butterfly.
It flowers from April to July.
It lives for several years and generally flowers and fruits annually (perennial plant).
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Its young shoots can be eaten raw. They taste similar to cress and slightly spicy.
Sources
Habitus, J. Patrick Fischer, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Blume_in_Wildbad_07.jpg
seed pouch, Guido Gerding, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/XN_CP_Pod_00.jpg
Stem leaf, Krzysztof Ziarnek, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Cardamine_pratensis_leaf_kz.jpg
Eggenberg, S. & Möhl, A. (2007) Flora Vegetativa: Ein Bestimmungsbuch für Pflanzen der Schweiz im blütenlosen Zustand, Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt Verlag.
Spohn, M., Golte-Bechtle, M. & Spohn, R. (2015) Was blüht denn da? Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
Jäger, E. J. (2011) Rothmaler - Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Gefäßpflanzen: Grundband, Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag.
Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Lippert, W. & Podlech, D. (1993) GU Naturführer. Blumen: die wichtigen Blütenpflanzen Mitteleuropas erkennen und bestimmen, München: Gräfe und Unzer Verlag.
Schauer, T., Caspari, C. & Caspari, S. (2015) Der illustrierte BLV-Pflanzenführer für unterwegs. 1150 Blumen, Gräser, Bäume und Sträucher, München: BLV.
Page „Wiesen-Schaumkraut“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 17.01.2017, 20:30 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wiesen-Schaumkraut&oldid=161740037 (Accessed: 19.01.2017).