Spring Edible Plant Toothwort Identification

Toothwort is common colonizing early spring edible plant that is mainly used for a substitute for horseradish, although it does have some medicinal uses as well. A really easy plant to identify and to harvest there are a couple varieties of Toothwort. Today we look at Cut Leaf Toothwort and it's identification features.

Cut Leaf Toothwort is named for the deep cuts which separate the leaves into three leaflets. These cuts are very deep, making it appear as if their are five to seven leaflets. The leaves have a palmate leaf structure with little teeth along the edges or margins of the leaves. The flowers are white to pink and have four petals and each plant will sport many flowers.

The rootstock, or rhizome is the edible and medicinal part of the plant and tastes very much like horseradish. The roots are very small and very shallow, usually laying about an inch or two below the soil. This makes harvesting a breeze and since it only takes one to two roots for horseradish for a couple people it doesn't take a lot of effort or time to gather and prepare them.

Видео Spring Edible Plant Toothwort Identification канала Trillium: Wild Edibles