Cardamine concatenata, Cutleaf Toothwort


Cardamine concatenata, Cutleaf Toothwort, is one of the first ephemeral plants you will find in spring in much of the central and eastern deciduous woodlands and even some of the northern pine forests. It's low growing mat of toothy, palmate leaves will send up nearly white, sometimes pink, flowers April into May. While it spreads, it does so slowly. It does exceptionally well on our north-facing slope under the maple trees. Occasionally, one or two pop up here or there in the vegetable or flower garden, but I have not yet discovered by what vector.

Cutleaf Toothwort will charm you not long after the snow has melted. By late May the leaves have turned yellow and will soon disappear. This ephemeral is much larger above ground than it is below., so when transplanting, be careful. It does well with ferns, ginger, and other part to full shade ephemerals. Toothwort sometimes goes by the botanical name Dentaria laciniata.

Bloom: white to pale pink, April to May

Height: 4-8 inches.

Conditions: shade to part shade, moist to medium soils, ephemeral

With more sunshine, Toothwort flowers may show a pink hue.










Over time, Cutleaf Toothwort will form a colony.