White-flowered rock mustard
Cardamine leucantha

Family: Brassicaceae

What it is like

A cabbage family herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows from 25-70 cm tall. It is hairy. There are 2-3 leaves near the base. These are compound with leaflets along the stalk. There are 5-7 leaflets. The end leaflet is 4-6 cm long and 1-3 cm wide. The leaves on the stem are smaller. The flowers are white and in groups at the top of the plant. The pods are hairy and 1.5-2.5 cm long by 1.5 mm wide. The seeds are brown and 2 mm long.

There are about 160 Cardamine species. They are mostly in damp places in temperate regions.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows on roadsides, shady areas, forests, wet places along streams, roadsides between 100–2000 m. altitude in China. It grows in wetlands.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia

How it is used for food

The seedlings are used as a vegetable. The dried leaves are used as a tea substitute.

Edible parts

Leaves, leaves - tea, seedlings

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Bai hua sui mi qi, Minarinaeng-i

Synonyms

Dentaria leucantha Tausch; Cardamine cathayensis Migo; Cardamine dasyloba (Turczaninow) Miquel; Cardamine leucantha var. crenata D. C. Zhang; Cardamine macrophylla Willdenow var. parviflora Trautvetter; Dentaria dasyloba Turczaninow; Dentaria macrophylla (Willdenow) Bunge ex Maximowicz var. dasyloba (Turczaninow) Makino;