There was nothing remarkable about the cold, blustery January day in the Southwest Virginia mountains except that the sun had been shining brightly all morning. But that radiance apparently had been enough of an auger of spring that the hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) had decided to poke its head out of the nearly frozen ground… right next to our front stoop.
A close relative of watercress, bittercress is one of the first wild edibles to make their yearly appearance in the Blue Ridge. That fact, alone, is worth learning more about this flora.
“The stems, leaves, and tiny white flowers are edible cooked or raw,” said Mitchell Dech, a wild edibles’ enthusiast from Fayette County, West Virginia. “Also, interestingly, the ripe seeds will explode while you walk through a patch of bittercress.”
The leaves are Elaine’s and my favorite part of this plant to consume. The leaflets are often about six inches long (but they can be as long as nine inches) and are characterized by their alternating, round leaves about half an inch wide. Those leaves host ample quantities of Vitamin C, plus calcium, magnesium and the all-important antioxidants.
I’ll cut a number of those leaves and make them the main part of a salad or add them to egg dishes such as frittatas or omelets. Look for this humble, ground hugging plant to appear in your yard this month.
Bruce and Elaine Ingram will profile a different wild edible every month. For more information on their book Living the Locavore Lifestyle, contact them at bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com.
