TOOTHWORT

any of about 10 species of perennial herbs belonging to the genus Dentaria, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to northern temperate areas. The name toothwort refers to the plant's toothed, or scaly, rootstock. The four-petaled flowers, borne in a terminal cluster, are white, pink, or pale purple. Toothwort, pepperwort, or crinklewort (D. diphylla), native to moist woods of North America, bears one pair of stem leaves, each of which is divided into three broad leaflets. Cut-leaved toothwort (D. laciniata), from the same area, has a whorl of three stem leaves. Each leaf is deeply cut into three narrow, bluntly toothed segments.