1 / 12

Cardamine pratensis

cuckooflower

Brassicaceae Circumboreal Northern Hemisphere

Attracts Pollinators Attracts Butterflies

Native to North America

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterHigh

HardinessZones 3–8

Overview

Cardamine pratensis is a slender herbaceous perennial in the cabbage family, growing 8-20 inches (20-50 cm) tall from a basal rosette. The rosette leaves are pinnate with rounded leaflets, while the few stem leaves are divided into narrow, almost linear segments. In spring, loose racemes carry four-petaled flowers about 0.6-0.8 inch (1.5-2 cm) across, in pale lilac to soft pink, occasionally white, with yellow anthers at the center. Native across the cooler parts of Europe, Asia, and North America, it grows in damp meadows, marshes, ditches, and along streams and shaded banks. The flowering coincides with the return of the cuckoo in spring, the source of its common name. It is a larval food plant for the orange-tip and green-veined white butterflies, whose eggs are laid on the flower stalks. The plant can also reproduce from small plantlets that form on fallen leaves, rooting where they touch damp soil. It needs reliably moist ground and fades quickly where the soil dries out in summer.

Native Range

Native across the temperate and subarctic Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, northern Asia, and North America. It grows in wet meadows, marshes, stream sides, ditches, and damp woodland.

Suggested Uses

Grown in bog gardens, wildflower meadows, pond and stream edges, and damp informal borders. It suits naturalistic and wildlife plantings, especially for spring butterflies. The peppery young leaves are edible in salads, much like watercress.

How to Identify

Recognized by a rosette of pinnate leaves with rounded leaflets and slender flowering stems bearing loose clusters of four-petaled lilac to pink flowers in spring. The narrow, divided stem leaves contrast with the rounded basal leaflets. Its damp grassland habitat and spring bloom time help separate it from other bittercresses.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 1'8"

Width/Spread6" - 1'

Reaches mature size in approximately 2 years

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~6 weeks

Spring

Flowers in spring, generally April to June, with pale lilac to pink blooms opening in loose racemes as the cuckoo returns. The flowers draw early bees, hoverflies, and orange-tip butterflies. Slender seed pods follow and split explosively to scatter the seed.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

Pale lilac to pink, sometimes white

Foliage Description

Green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-8 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 7.5(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam clay peat

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

High

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

Flowers in the second year

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows in full sun to part shade in consistently moist to wet, fertile soil with a pH of about 5.5 to 7.5. Suited to bog gardens, pond margins, damp meadows, and other ground that stays wet in spring. Tolerates seasonal flooding but fades and dies back early where the soil dries in summer. Needs little care and is rarely affected by pests, though cabbage-white caterpillars may graze the leaves. It self-sows and forms leaf plantlets, slowly spreading in suitable damp sites.

Pruning

No pruning is needed. The foliage dies back naturally after seeding in early summer. Spent stems can be left to self-sow or taken off to limit spread.

✓ Toxicity

Non-toxic