Hairy bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta, is an ephemeral plant native to Europe and Asia, but also present in North America. The plant is a member of the mustard family [Brassicaceae], and is edible as a bitter herb. It flowers from quite early in the Spring until the Autumn. The small white flowers are borne in a corymb on wiry green stems, soon followed by the seeds and often continuing to flower as the first seeds ripen. The seed are borne in siliquae which, as with many Brassica species, will often burst explosively when touched [explosive dehiscence], sending the seeds flying far from the parent plant. Seeds germinate in the Autumn, and the tiny plants are winter annual [green throughout the winter months]. This plant grows best in damp, recently disturbed soil.
Photo: Sharp Mountain, Jasper, GA