Cardamine trifolia aka Three Leaved Bittercress

Cardamine trifolia is a small plant in the cabbage family. It is a perennial, which means it lives for years. Common names include trifoliate bittercress and three-leaved cuckoo flower. It comes from central and southern Europe. It grows wild on rocky mountain slopes and damp stream banks. It also grows in moist, shaded woods, including woods over limestone. It is not native to Britain or Ireland.

The plant creeps into low mats or small mounds. Missouri Botanical Garden gives a spread near 1 foot [0.3 metres]. Its leaves stand about 0.25 feet [0.08 metres] tall. Flower stems reach about 0.5 feet [0.15 metres]. The RHS gives wider ranges for both height and spread. These reach 1.6 feet [0.5 metres]. Growth is slow. Plants may take two to five years to mature. Each shiny, dark green leaf has three rounded leaflets. Small teeth line the edges of these leaf parts. Sources differ on whether the leaves last through winter. Missouri Botanical Garden calls them evergreen, meaning they keep their leaves. The RHS calls them deciduous, meaning they shed their leaves.

Small white flowers grow in groups above the low leaves. The RHS describes the blooms as open and cup-like. Missouri Botanical Garden gives April and May as bloom months. The RHS says they bloom in late spring. Raised stems hold the blooms clear of the leaves. Both flowers and dark leaves give this low plant garden value.

Grow it in part or full shade, in humus-rich soil. Keep the soil moist for the best growth. Missouri Botanical Garden says the soil should drain well. The RHS lists soil that drains poorly. It accepts sand, loam, clay, and chalk. It tolerates acid, neutral, and alkaline soil. Once plants take root, they can cope with brief dry spells. Missouri Botanical Garden lists USDA zones 5–9. The RHS rates its UK hardiness as H5. Plants need no pruning and little routine care. Grow new plants from seed or by division.

Use it as ground cover beneath shrubs or in woodland beds. It suits shaded rock gardens, alpine gardens, and mixed borders. Plants For A Future suggests gaps of about 1 foot [0.3 metres] between plants. Neither the RHS nor Missouri Botanical Garden reports major disease problems. Aphids and flea beetles may still attack it. Plants For A Future lists no known hazards or medicinal uses. It gives the plant a low rating for food use. Its claim that the leaves are edible is tentative. That claim does not show that the leaves are safe to eat.