Early Spring Wildflowers: Cutleaf Toothwort

Home bound and isolated persons as well as those not particularly fond of colder weather, eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring. Or, rather, they look forward to the final part of winter-say early March. Why? Spring is the time of rebirth for nature, when the snows are either gone or melting and the ground breaks forth in verdure and with the first flowers. The air is clean and the sky, bright. Many of the first wildflowers blossom in rich woods, at first of virgin white blossoms, tinged later with a little color. So it is with the cutleaf toothwort (Dentaria laciniata).¹ Its four-petal flowers are cross-shaped and sport pink-to-violet tips, bringing a breath of color to spring.

Range and Characteristics

The cutleaf toothwort is a spring ephemeral native ranging from Texas and Florida in the south, through the central and eastern states, up north as far as North Dakota, and from there on to Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Cutleaf toothwort, with its sworls of three-segmented, coarsely toothed leaves, prospers in speckled light, sprouting before surrounding trees develop their leaves, in moist, lightly acid, rich woodsy soil. Plants develop from rhizomes and grow to be approximately four inches to over a foot tall. Blooming concludes as the spring does; in summer, the delicate plants rest beneath at most a little forest litter, in the shade. There are other varieties of toothwort, besides cutleaf. Some of those may be seen on this Duke University webpage.

Propagating Cutleaf Toothwort

Although the cutleaf toothwort develops seeds in a kind of pod called a silique, it is generally conceded the plant is easiest propagated from sections of rhizome. The rhizome is delicate, and requires care to avoid breakage. It should be planted in your shaded, woodsy location, during its dormant phase. If it is also desired to grow the wildflower from seed, note that it takes approximately four to five weeks for a pod to mature and break open. Just before that occurs, pods should be gathered into a paper bag (to avoid molding) and allowed to open. Plant the seeds immediately, as they deteriorate quickly if stored. Expect a few years to pass before first bloom. Decorating with a few choice rocks and adding a few other early-blooming wildflowers will add to the appeal of cutleaf toothwort.

¹ Some experts classify the cutleaf toothwort in the mustard family, as Cardamine concatenata.

References and Resources:

USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service - Cutleaf Toothwort

Illinois Wildflowers - Cutleaf Toothwort

University of Texas at Austin - Native Plant Database - Cardamine concatenata.