Toothwort (Cardamine glanduligera)

About

Toothwort (Cardamine glanduligera) is one of the plants that cover the ground in the beech forests of the Carpathians with a solid carpet in spring. It is a low herb, 10–30 cm tall. Three leaves sit in a ring on the stem, each with three elongated serrated leaflets. Above them, a raceme opens with several large, 1.5–2 cm, purple-pink flowers with four petals.

Toothwort blooms in April - May, immediately after the snow melts. It is in a hurry: all development must fit into a few weeks while the beech has not yet unfurled its leaves and there is plenty of light under the forest canopy. By early summer, the above-ground part dies off, and until the next spring, the plant remains underground in the form of a white fleshy rhizome with scales resembling teeth. Hence the name.

This is a Carpathian species: its range covers the Carpathians and adjacent areas. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, Toothwort is common in beech, beech-fir, and hornbeam forests from the foothills to the upper forest limit, and naturalists record it very often.

Along with it, snowdrop, white flower, anemone, and lungwort bloom. A little later, bulbous toothwort blooms — taller, with pale lilac flowers and dark bulbs in the leaf axils.

There is no point in picking spring flowers for a bouquet: they wilt within an hour. The species is not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, but collecting flowers in reserves and national parks is prohibited.

Where in the Carpathians

Orange — where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0/CC BY); a blank area does not mean it is absent.

Countries

Ukraine · Slovakia · Czechia · Poland · Romania · Hungary

Mountain ranges

Bieszczady. In other countries: 🇸🇰 Slovak Ore Mountains, 🇨🇿 Moravian-Silesian Beskids, 🇸🇰 Belianske Tatras, 🇸🇰 Volovec Mountains, 🇸🇰 Slovak Paradise, 🇸🇰 Western Tatras, 🇵🇱 Silesian Beskids, 🇵🇱 Pieniny, 🇸🇰 Vihorlat Mountains, 🇸🇰 Low Tatras, 🇸🇰 High Tatras, 🇸🇰 Lesser Fatra, 🇸🇰 Greater Fatra

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Collecting flowers in protected areas is prohibited.

FAQ