Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

Hey dear Hive community, I wish you all a good day that hopefully brought one or the other beautiful experience into your life! In this post I would like to bring you a little closer to a plant that I discovered a few days ago right in the middle of a forest path.

This rather inconspicuous plant would perhaps label some people as pest plant, but the opposite is the case and I was able to find out some interesting things about it. The common name is Hairy bittercress and scientifically Cardamine hirsuta, to the genus Cardamine belong over 200 or more different species.

It is a rather common plant and the original distribution area is Eurooa, Asia, Africa to the Himalayas. As I have found it on roadsides is often the case, but it can also be seen on meadows, fields or other nutrient-rich and moist soils.

Now I would like to go to an interesting characteristic of Cardamine hirsuta, the medical effect. In fact, this is a medicinal plant that can be used against various diseases. One of the most important properties is the antibacterial effect and it can be used well against circulatory disorders or loss of appetite. It is rich in Vitamin C, bitter substances as well as other minerals and the interesting active ingredient mustard oil glycosides, which actively helps against bacteria and can be used well for wound healing.

As I could learn from a document, this plant was also known among the ancient Celts and Germanics and this is particularly interesting for me, as much knowledge from this time is no longer so easy to find. As with any other medicine, you should always ask your trusted doctor about the correct application and dosage!

Thank you very much for stopplng by and I hope you like my new my contribution! I used my camera Sony Alpha 6000 and Sony SEL-55210 Telephoto Zoom Lens (55-210mm) to take these pictures.