Cardamine
(from Kardamine, a diminutive of Kardamon, Cress, used by Dioscorides). Lady's Smock. Including Pteroneurum. ORD. Cruciferae. A genus of hardy, usually smooth herbs. Racemes terminal, bractless. Leaves stalked, entire, lobed, or pinnately cut, usually very different in the same plant. Only the perennial species are worth growing, and these mostly thrive in a damp, shady situation, in any kind of soil. They are easily propagated by divisions, after flowering.
C. asarifolia (Asarum-leaved).* fl. white, in close racemes. May, June. l. smooth, stalked, cordate-orbicular, somewhat sinuately-toothed. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. Mountains of Southern France and Northern Italy, 1710. (B. M. 1735.) C. bellidifolia (Daisy-leaved). fl. white. April. l. smooth, thickish; radical ones stalked, ovate, entire; cauline ones few, entire, or somewhat three-lobed, not eared at the base. h. 4in. Northern hemisphere. (F. D. 1, 20.) C. chelidonia (Celandine-like). fl., petals purple, oval. March. l. pinnate, rather smooth; segments stalked, ovate, toothed; lower segments pinnate into three or four small segments. h. 1ft. South and East Europe, 1739. C. glauca (glaucous). fl. white, in dense racemes. May l. stalked, smooth, glaucous, rather fleshy, pinnate; segments five or nine, oblong, terminal one three-lobed. Stem diffuse, much branched. h. 6in. Southern and Eastern Europe, 1824.
C. latifolia (broad-leaved). fl. purplish, a little larger than those of C. pratensis. June. l. large, pinnate, smooth; segments three or seven, rather orbicular, angularly-toothed. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Pyrenees, 1710. C. macrophylla (large-leaved). fl. purple, about the size of those of C. pratensis. June. l. pinnate, somewhat pubescent; segments five, oval-lanceolate, pointed, unequally serrated. Branches of root creeping. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. Siberia, 1824.
C. pratensis (meadow).* Cuckoo Flower. fl. usually pale purple, but sometimes white. Early spring. l. pinnate; segments of the radical ones roundish, of the stem ones linear or lanceolate, entire. h. 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. Northern Hemisphere (Britain). There are numerous varieties of this species, including a very desirable double-flowered one, frequently met with in a wild state. C. rhomboidea (rhomboid).* fl. white, large. Spring. l., root ones round and rather heart-shaped; lower stem-leaves ovate or rhomboid-oblong, somewhat petioled, the upper almost lanceolate, all somewhat angled or sparingly toothed. Stems upright, from a tuberiferous base, simple. United States of America.
C. r. purpurea (purple).* A very pretty variety, with rounder leaves, and the rose-purple flowers appearing earlier than those of the type. C. rotundifolia (round-leaved). fl. white, rather small. Spring. l. nearly uniform, roundish. Somewhat angled, often cordate at the base, petioled, the lowest frequently three-lobed, or of three leaflets. Stems branching, weak or decumbent. Pennsylvania.
C. trifolia (three-leaved).* fl., petals white, with a broad cuneated claw, and a broad, spreading, obovate limb; scape naked. March to May. l. smoothish, ternate; segments sessile, rhomboidal-roundish, toothed. Lower branches root-like, creeping. h. 6in. Southern Europe, 1629. (B. M. 452.)