Spring Cress
Biocultural Value
The rootstock is grated and used as a condiment, it is a horse radish substitute. A hot pungent taste. The leaves are edible, lending a sharp, peppery flavor to salads.
Wildlife Value
The nectar of the flowers attracts cuckoo bees (Nomada spp.), mason bees (Osmia spp.), little carpenter bees (Ceratina spp.), Halictid bees (Augochlorella spp., Halictus spp., & Lasioglossum spp.), Andrenid bees (Andrena spp.), bee flies (Bombylius spp.), dance flies (Empis spp.), Syrphid flies (miscellaneous), small- to medium-sized butterflies (miscellaneous), and skippers (miscellaneous). Some of the bees also collect pollen. The flea beetles Phyllotreta oblonga and Phyllotreta bipustulata feed on Spring Cress and other Cardamine spp. (Bitter Cress species). Mammalian herbivores usually avoid the consumption of Spring Cress because its foliage is pungent and somewhat bitter.
