Toothwort Mustard Dentaria diphylla

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Toothwort MustardDentaria diphylla
Family Brassicaceae (brass-ih-KAY-see-ee) From
the Latin brassica indicating the cabbage family.
It was previously in the Cruciferae family from
the four petals which formed a cross. Alternative
Pronunciation brass-ih-KAY-see-ay Genus
Dentaria (dent-AIR-ee-a) From the Latin dens,
tooth, referring to the toothlike scales on the
rhizome. Species diphylla (dye-FILL-a) From
the Greek di, two and phyllon, a leaf, referring
to two leaves or leaflets on the stem.
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Toothwort Mustard
Toothwort is native to our area and is considered
an evergreen. The varieties of toothwort are hard
to tell apart. It is also called crinkleroot,
crinkled toothwort cardamine, Indian pepper,
pepperoot, pepperwort and two-leaved
toothwort. Toothwort gets its common name from
the toothed rhizomes and from the fact that it
can be used to relieve tooth ache.
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Toothwort
Unlike most flowering plants, toothwort emerges
for a second time in the fall and can persist
throughout winter. It consists of a single ,
central main flowering stem which has two small 
leaf stalks sprouting off it about halfway
between the ground and the flowers. Each leaf
stalk is further divided into three lobed leaves.
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Toothwort
The dark green leaves are three-lobed, scalloped,
with white veining. More leaves emerge in the
spring.
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Toothwort
The flowers have four petals, thus form a cross
and the reason for the former Cruciferae name.
The flowers are small white-to-pale pink flowers
on 15 to 20 cm stems. The flowers appear after
the canopy has started to develop in late April
and last well into May or even June. After
flowering, plants go dormant for the summer and
emerge again in fall when the trees begin to drop
their leaves.
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Toothwort
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Toothwort
The flowers are small and appear delicate.
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Toothwort
The roots are tender with long rhizomes that grow
close to the top of the ground. The edible
rhizomes have a pungent, peppery flavour similar
to watercress and giving the name pepperwort to
some species. It has even been used as a
substitute for horseradish.
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Toothwort
The fresh or dried root of toothwort has been
used to relieve tooth ache pain. In the past a
tea made from the root was used in treating colds
and congestion, as a gargle for sore throats, to
calm nerves and is a mild natural relaxant. Fresh
juice has been used to aid digestion while the
crushed root was used as a poultice for aches,
pains and rheumatism. The leaves have been used
in salads. Toothwort Supplements are available at
some health food stores. Do not consume unless
recommended by an expert.
Some 1st Nations peoples made a type of mace
powder from the root and blew it into the eyes of
the enemy to disable them. They also used the
dried herb as snuff to cause hallucinations
during rituals. Toothwort is said to have
sedative, digestive, analgesic, and tonic
properties.
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