occasionally occur, according to Muller.


TWO-LEAVED TOOTHWORT; CRINKLE-ROOT
(Dentaria diphylla) Mustard family

Flowers - White, about 1/2 in. across, in a terminal loose
cluster, the formation of each similar to that of bulbous cress.
Stem: 8 to 15 in. high. Root stock: Long, crinkled, toothed,
fleshy, crisp, edible. Leaves: 2, opposite or nearly so, on the
stem, compounded of 3 ovate and toothed leaflets; also larger,
broader leaves on larger petioles from the rootstock. Fruit:
Flat, lance-shaped pods, 1 in. long or over, tipped with the
slender style.
Perferred Habitat - Rich leaf mould in woods, sometimes in
thickets and meadows.
Flowering Season - May.
Distribution - Nova Scotia to the Carolinas, west to the
Mississippi.

Clusters of these pretty, white, cross-shaped flowers, found near
the bloodroot, claytonia, anemones, and a host of other delicate
spring blossoms, enter into a short but fierce competition with
them for the visits of the small Andrena and Halictus bees then
flying to collect nectar and pollen for a generation still
unborn. In tunnels underground, or in soft, partially decayed
wood, each busy little mother places the pellets of pollen and
nectar paste, then when her eggs have been laid on the food
supply in separate nurseries and sealed up, she dies from
exhaustion, leaving her grub progeny to eat its way through the