Cardamine

...A biennial plant of the Brassicaceae family (illustration) commonly found in the remains of rice paddies and in moist soil from winter to spring. The stem is 10-30 cm tall, with many branches emerging from the base, and is usually purple near the base and somewhat hairy. The leaves are pinnately divided. The flowers bloom in spring, from March to May, with four white petals, each 3-4 mm long. After flowering, the inflorescence elongates and produces numerous rod-shaped fruits about 2 cm long. It is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 100 species of Cardamine (English name bitter cress) are known from the temperate zone north of the Old World, and many of them have edible young leaves. ...

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Cardamine" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…水田跡や湿った土地に，冬から春にかけて普通に見られるアブラナ科の越年草（イラスト）。茎は高さ10～30cm，基部から多く枝を出して立ち上がり，基部近くは普通紫色を帯びて，多少毛がある。葉は羽状に分裂。花は春3～5月ころに開き，花弁は長さ3～4mm，白色で4枚。花が終わると花序は伸長し，長さ2cm内外の棒状の果実が多数つく。北半球に広く分布する。　タネツケバナ属Cardamine(英名bitter cress)は，旧世界の温帯以北に100種以上が知られ，若葉が食用になるものも多い。…

※「Cardamine」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報