Herb: Large Toothwort


Latin name: Dentaria maxima


Synonyms: Cardamine maxima


Family: Cruciferae



Medicinal use of Large Toothwort:

The root is stomachic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
30 cm
(11 3/4 inch)

Habitat of the herb:

By woodland streams or on calcareous wooded slopes.

Edible parts of Large Toothwort:

Root - raw or cooked. Pungent and acrid when first harvested, it is piled into a heap and then allowed to ferment for several days to sweeten and then boiled.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 weeks at 15°C. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame for the first two years, planting them out when dormant in late summer. Division in early spring or after the plant dies down in the summer. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Cultivation of Large Toothwort:

By woodland streams or on calcareous wooded slopes.

Known hazards of Dentaria maxima:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.