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Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis): Spring Meadow Wildflower

Overview

Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), also called lady's smock, is a delicate perennial native to moist meadows across Europe and Asia. It bears pale pink to lilac flowers in spring, coinciding with the arrival of the cuckoo bird.

Botanical Details

Family:	Brassicaceae (brass-ih-KAY-see-ee)
Genus:	Cardamine (kar-DAM-ih-nee)
Species:	pratensis (pray-TEN-sis)
Synonym:	Cardamine acaulis
Synonym:	Cardamine buchtormensis
Synonym:	Cardamine fontinalis
Synonym:	Cardamine pratensis var. palustris
Synonym:	Cardamine pratensis var. pratensis

Ecology and Uses

Host plant for orange-tip butterfly. Edible leaves and flowers (peppery). Naturalizes in damp grasslands. Good for rain gardens and pond edges. Self-seeds.

Herbs: Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis): Tough Native Shade Tree for Tough Sites; Glandularia pulchella: South American Mock Vervain – Moss Verbena for Hot, Dry Sites; American Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum); American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana): Native Shrub with Electric Purple Berries; American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis): Native Shrub for Berries and Blooms; Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana): Pungent Root for Sauce and Medicine; Korean Mint (Agastache rugosa): Robust, Licorice-Scented Perennial for Tea and Pollinators; Lesser Calamint (Calamintha nepeta): Cloud of Tiny White Flowers for Pollinator Gardens; Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla xanthochlora): Dew-Catching Scalloped Leaves for Shade Gardens; American Spikenard (Aralia racemosa): Bold, Native Woodland Perennial with Showy Berries

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