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Common Name: Large Toothwort

General Information

Dentaria maxima is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.30 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

Eastern N. America - Maine to Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Habitat

By woodland streams or on calcareous wooded slopes[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.30 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

An easily grown plant, preferring a rich light moist soil and a shady position[, ].
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -20°c[].

Edible Uses

Root - raw or cooked[, ]. Pungent and acrid when first harvested, it is piled into a heap and then allowed to ferment for several days to sweeten and then boiled[, ].

Medicinal

The root is stomachic[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 weeks at 15°c[]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame for the first two years, planting them out when dormant in late summer.
Division in early spring or after the plant dies down in the summer. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.