Cardamine hirsuta, Lamium purpureum, Glechoma hederacea by AnneTanne
There is a cute little weed with tiny white flowers that is growing in many gardens and lawns in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is a winter annual that grows in spring. A winter annual is a plant that germinates in the fall and winter so that you may think it is dead because you don’t see it in those seasons and then in the spring it comes up, seemingly all over the place. (see here) Some of the common names of this plant are hairy bittercress, pepperweed, snapweed, and land cress. Its Latin name is Cardamine hirsuta and it is in the mustard family which means it can be eaten. Mustards are winter annual plants. Hairy bittercress likes to grow in disturbed soil, in a sunny area that may be a bit wet. It is also found in greenhouses and newly potted plants and gardens.
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