THE CABBAGE FAMILY 
19 
Hairy Bitter Cress. (Cardamine hlrsuta, Linn.) — Flowers very small, white, in a 
terminal cluster (raceme), with only 4 stamens, and elastic pods soon overtopping the little flowers. 
[As described in the genus Bitter Cress (Cardamine).] The stem 8 inches to 3 feet high, hairy ; 
the leaves hairy, divided from the mid-rib into from 3-6 pairs of leaflets with one terminal one 
(imparipinnate) ; those of the root (radical) in a rosette with roundish leaflets, and those of the 
upper stem with narrower leaflets. This plant varies in size and texture according to its situation. 
When growing in dry, hilly situations it has a small, simple, hard stalk, and leaves tinged with 
red. When growing in damp places it is from 2-3 feet high, profusely branched and leafy, juicy 
and green. [Plate 12. 
Common. Hillsides, banks, sides of streams, &c. April — August. Annual. 
Wavy Bitter Cress. (Cardamine flexuosa, With.) — A very similar species to the 
Hairy Bitter Cress (Cardamine hirsuta), differing in having 6 stamens, a longer style, and a more 
wavy stem. 
Common. Shady places, &c. April — September. Biennial. 
Narrow-leaved Bitter Cress. (Cardamine impatiens, Linn.) — The flowers small, 
\ inch across ; the petals white when present, but often absent, and the pods so elastic as to open 
when ripe with a report and then curl up — hence its name. [As described in the genus Bitter 
Cress (Cardamine).] The stem 10-18 inches high, erect, leafy, simple or slightly branched, and 
the leaves divided from the midrib into 4-7 pairs of lance-shaped leaflets with one terminal one 
(imparipinnate), often toothed or lobed, each leaf having at the base 2 narrow, fringed, stipule-like 
lobes clasping the main stem. 
Rare. Rocky places, chiefly on limestone. May — August. Annual. 
Bulbiferous Coral-root, Coral-wort. (Cardamine bulbifera, R.Br.)— Flowers few, 
large, § inch across, lilac. [As described in the genus Bitter Cress (Cardamine).] The pods 
rarely forming, as the plant is propagated by the bulbs, which grow in the leaf axils and fall to 
the ground. Stem 1-1J feet high, erect, unbranched, leafy; the upper leaves entire, toothed, 
lance-shaped, with bulbs in their axils, and the lower deeply divided to the mid-rib into 2-3 pairs 
of lance-shaped, toothed leaflets with one terminal one (imparipinnate). 
Rare, local. Shady places in the south-east of England. April — June. Perennial. 
*DAME’S VIOLET. (HESPERIS, LINN.) — Flowers large, in short clusters (racemes). 
Sepals 4, the 2 side ones pouched at the base (gibbous) ; petals 4, with long claws ; stamens 6, 
in pairs, one pair being shorter than the other two ; carpels 2, the style so short as to appear 
absent and the stigma divided into 2 erect, parallel lobes. Pod long, narrow, roundish, divided 
lengthwise into 2 cells by a thin partition, to either side of which the seeds are attached, 
the shell opening from base to apex by two valves (siliqua). Stout erect herbs with toothed 
leaves. 
*Dame’s Violet. (Hesperis matronalis, Linn.)— The only species found in Britain, 
but not a native. As just described. The flowers being about f inch across, lilac or white ; the 
stem 1 £-3 feet high, branched and leafy, and the leaves egg-shaped, toothed, pointed at the apex, 
and tapering at the base into a short stalk. 
Rare ; an escape from gardens. April — July. Biennial. 
HEDGE-MUSTARD. (SISYMBRIUM, LINN.) — Flowers rather small, yellow or white, in 
fairly flat clusters (corymbs), lengthening in fruit. Sepals 4, sometimes with the 2 side ones 
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