1. What species of plant is this (or if not to species, how closely can you identify it)?
This plant is in the mustard family Cruciferae, the four petals opposite each other is typical of mustards, the long slender fruit is also one of the typical mustard fruit types.
The mustard family is diverse and often weedy around here, so it can be difficult to get down to a particular species, though the genus is not as difficult to determine. I decided to attempt to key out the plant to the species level and wrote up a new post for part 1 of that experience.
2. Is it edible? If so, what does it taste like?
I am not aware of any poisonous mustards in this region (when eaten in moderate amounts). This one is definitely edible and has a peppery flavor characteristic of many mustards.
As a side note, many of our cultivated vegetables are in the mustard family such as broccoli, cabbage, radishes, turnips and brussel sprouts.
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2 comments:
Given that I've been told that pride can be an impediment to learning, I'll give this quiz another try, but I'm tempted to use a pseudonym.
This is a charming member of the Brassicaceae (a family I've avoided). In Pojar, this one keys directly to Cardamine. There wasn't much help beyond that point though. Hitchcock and Cronquist leads me to C. oligosperma or occidentalis, neither of which seemed to fit well. I did find a weedy species by trolling around in eFlora of British Columbia. That species is Cardamine hirsuta. From what I read in Plants for a Future Database, it seems to be edible. The Cardamine oligosperma in the garden taste rather like hot mustard, I wouldn't be surprised if this one does as well.
Hah. Nicely done. I wasn't particularly expecting anybody to go down to the species level, guess I will have to break out my key and see what I can figure out myself :)
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