Note from the Author: This is an update on a weed I covered March 28th, 2015.
Although it is mixed in with a Henbit, this Swine Cress is doing real nice in a cinder block edging on the side of a vegetable garden. 
Spotted next to a building in Vander NC, this little one is a perfect example of what Swine Cress looks like.
Common Name: Swine Cress
Other Common Names: Hairy Bittercress, Hoary Bittercress, Lamb’s Cress, Land Cress, Springcress, Flick Weed and, Shot Weed.
Botanical Family: Brassicaeae (The Cabbage/Crucifer Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Cardamine hirsuta
Description & Habitat: Swine Cress is a non-native cool season annual that typically emerges in late fall or during the winter in the southeast. The foliage of this plant is pinnate with small kidney-shaped (Reniform) leaflets. The number of leaflets on the stems of this plant can vary based on how big the plant is and other factors of growing environment. The petioles (leaf stems) are typically red in color while the leaflets are a rich green color. Swine Cress is typically found in areas with moist soil and in the urban environment it will appear beside walkways, through the rocks in gravel areas, beside buildings, in yards, areas with disturbed soil and, sometimes in potted plants left outdoors for the winter. Its seed pods do have a mechanism to fling seeds away which is why it is called Flick Weed, Shot Weed or Popping Cress. Speaking of this plant’s name the Botanical Latin name has specific but pretty obvious meaning, ‘Cardamine’ comes from kardaminē which means ‘Water Cress’. The specific epithet ‘Hirsuta’ simply means ‘hairy’. Swine Cress is a member of the Brassica family which means it is related to a large number of food staples that we see at the grocerty store on a regular basis. Some of those foods include; Cabbage, Kale, Mustard Greens, Turnips, Arugula, Radishes, Rutabagas, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Horse Radish, Collards, Rapeseed/Canola, Brussels Sprouts, Kohlrabi, and there are a ton of others not listed. Likewise other relatives of this plant can be found at garden centers in the seed rack or as plants in the case of Silver Dollar plant (Lunnaria sp.), Sweet Alyssum (Lobularcia maritima) and Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri). The point here is that Swine Cress is in a relatively safe family and thus is very safe to eat as a forage-able green. On a strictly biological perspective Swine Cress is a model example of a plant with an Annual life cycle as it completes its life cycle in just 12 weeks.
When & What to Harvest: The leaves, flowers and unripe seed pods are all safely edible. Ideally you want to start harvesting these during January or February before seeds are fully formed.
Edible Related Plants: Plants that look similar to this include Arugula (Eruca sativa), Upland Cress/Creasy greens (Barbarea verna), Water Cress (Nasturtium officinale) and Radishes (Raphanus sativus). All of the aforementioned plants are in the Cabbage family.
Similar Dangerous Species: There are none that I was able to locate.
Recipe:
Swine Cress Pesto
Ingredients:
20 rosettes of Swine Cress (can be as low as 15 depending on the size)
4 Tablespoons of Robust Olive Oil
½ Teaspoon of Black Garlic (or two fresh garlic cloves)
¼ Teaspoon of Black Pepper
¼ Teaspoon of Pink Salt (regular iodized will do fine if you prefer)
A Squeeze of Lemon
Grated Parmesan & Romano (this is to taste, I personally prefer more)
Instructions:
1. Trim and clean up the Swine Cress foliage and keep an eye out for debris, and caterpillars.
2. Wash the Swine Cress foliage thoroughly.
3. Take all of your ingredients and run through a food processor or if using a blender use one of the lower settings to properly pulverize everything.
Alternate instructions:
3. If you do not have a blender or food processer, you can simply slice up the cress as fine as possible and set it aside.
4. Using a skillet or frying pan, heat the oil then add the garlic first if it is fresh.
5. Add all other seasonings except the cheese and gently cook for a few minutes to let the flavors blend.
6. Add the chopped Swine Cress and cook until the cress has noticeably started to darken and gone soft.
7. Remove from heat and transfer your pesto to a container that is able to handle heat and then add the cheese to it and stir thoroughly.
8. Serve over pasta, with chicken or with other vegetables.
Additional Information: (If applicable)
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cardamine-hirsuta/common-name/hoary-bittercress/
Where to get seed or Bare Root Plants:
I could not locate a credible vendor for these seeds.
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.
Fresh Foods:
Soup Kit – Parsnip
Soup Kit – Turnip
Turnips
Parsnips
Onions
Celery
Potatoes
Garlic Bulbs
Oyster Mushrooms
Soil Amendment Products:
Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*
Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag
Carolina Gold, Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag
Carolina Gold, Enhanced Potting Soil – 1 Gallon Bag
Houseplants:
Abutilon
Aloe, American
Begonia, Sindbad
Cuban Oregano, Large Leaf
Hoan Ngoc
Pothos, Cebu Blue
Rose Campion
Selaginella
Solanum uleanum
Sorrel, Raspberry Dressing
Swiss Cheese Plant
*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.
How to stay in Contact with Us!
All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.
Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville
Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:
The Videos: Look Here
>Newest videos (1): Winter 2025
Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is February 22nd at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment