Brassicaceae

Cuckoo flower

Cardamine pratensis L.

Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Cardamine

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Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) — FlowerPhoto: Holger Braun, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (41)

Arabic: حرف مرجي, أم الأربع بتلات, حرف حقلي
arz: حرف مرجى
Asturian: Agrión
Azerbaijani: Çəmənlik ürəkotu
Basque: Xanpora
Belarusian: Буйміна лугавая, Жыруха
Bulgarian: Ливадна горва
Catalan: Creixen de prat
Chinese: 草甸碎米荠, 普贤菜, 诺古音一照古其
Czech: Řeřišnice luční
Danish: Eng-Karse, Engkarse
Dutch: Pinksterbloem
English: Cuckoo flower, Cuckooflower, Lady's smock, Mayflower, Milkmaids
Esperanto: Herbejkardamino
Estonian: Aas-jürilill
Faroese: Eingjarkarsi
Finnish: Luhtalitukka
French: Cresson des prés
frr: Klooker
German: Wiesen-Schaumkraut, Wiesenschaumkraut, Kuckucksblume
hsb: Łučna žerchwica, Rytawka, Rytawowe zelo
Hungarian: Réti kakukktorma
Irish: Biolar gréagáin
Japanese: ハナタネツケバナ, 花種漬花
kw: Lethvyrgh
Lithuanian: Pievinė kartenė
Macedonian: Ливадска пенливка
nds: Pinksterblom
Norwegian Bokmål: Engkarse
Norwegian Nynorsk: Engkarse
Persian: گل کاکوو
pfl: Wiesen-Schaumkraut
Polish: Rzeżucha łąkowa
Russian: Сердечник луговой
Slovak: Žerušnica lúčna
Slovenian: Travniška penuša
Spanish: Berro de prado, Cardamina
Swedish: Ängsbräsma, Braxnablomster, Kärrbräsma, Polarbräsma, Ängskrasse
Ukrainian: Жеруха лучна
Walloon: Schites-d'-agaesse, Chite d' agace, Schite di canari, Schites-d'oujheas
Welsh: Blodyn llefrith, Blodyn y Gog

Synonyms

Cardamine acaulis Berg
Cardamine buchtormensis Willd. ex DC.
Cardamine fontinalis Schur
Cardamine fossicola Godet
Cardamine fragilis Degl.
Cardamine herbivaga Jord.
Cardamine integrifolia Gilib.
Cardamine laurentiana Andrz. ex Ledeb.
Cardamine monticola Timb.-Lagr.
Cardamine nasturtii Spreng.
Cardamine nasturtiifolia Steud.
Cardamine nasturtioides Schur
Cardamine orophila Timb.-Lagr.
Cardamine pratensis f. arctica O.E.Schulz
Cardamine pratensis f. pratensis
Cardamine pratensis subsp. iliciana (Fritsch) O.E.Schulz
Cardamine pratensis var. debilis DC.
Cardamine pratensis var. grandiflora DC.
Cardamine pratensis var. minor Barnéoud
Cardamine pratensis var. spasskajae Tzvelev
Cardamine pratensis var. stolonifera DC.
Cardamine pseudopratensis Schur ex G.Nicholson
Cardamine scaturiginosa Wahlenb. ex Steud.
Cardamine stolonifera Tausch
Cardamine sylvatica Besser
Crucifera pratensis (L.) E.H.L.Krause
Ghinia pratensis (L.) Bubani

Flowers

In flower: April to May (from 4,244 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Alaska: native, Canada: native, Greenland: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Holger Braun, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Kieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Nigel Bentley, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: John Barkla, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Tobias Schönberg, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Olivier Pichard, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: AnRo0002, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: AnRo0002, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Peter Eriksen, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: AnRo0002, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

More in Cardamine

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.