Wildflower Wednesday~The Toothworts

Cardamine concatenata~ Cutleaf Toothwort

Cutleaf Toothwort was the first wildflower to introduce itself to me  at  Clay and Limestone.   It was my first spring in the house  and I spent as much time as I could manage to carve away from my busy life as a wife, mother and a part time therapist in the garden.

I remember being charmed by the nodding bell flowers on that  long ago spring morning. It was blooming  here and there on the edges of the then grassy area. Growing near it were other wildflowers~Columbines, Trillium, Dutchmen's Breeches  and Spring Beauty.   It's been more then  25 years and my spirits still lift  when I see the first spring blooms of the toothworts.

Cardamine diphylla~Broadleaf Toothwort offers winter color

 A few years ago I added  Broadleaf Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla) to the woodland garden. It's  evergreen and the leaves persist after the flower fades and goes to seed.  Both toothwort's native range is the Eastern United States  and parts of Canada.   It is found in moist woodlands usually in edge habitats.  If it's happy you can plan on a small colony of pretty flowers every spring. It will spread by root and seed.  But, don't worry, it isn't aggressive; it's just charming.

If you look closely a the flowers of toothwort~You can see their mustard family four petaled, pink or white cross shaped flowers. The nectar of the flowers attracts  honey bees, bumblebees, Mason bees, Cuckoo bees (Nomadine), Miner bees, Green Metallic Bees and other  Halictid bees, and Andrenid bees.  You know that makes me happy!
xxoogail

 Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Please add your url to Mr Linky and leave a comment.

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.