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Cochlearia officinalis - L.

Scurvy Grass

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Cruciferae	Genus	Cochlearia
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Coastal and mountainous regions of western, northern and central Europe, including Britain.
Habitat	Sea cliffs and coastal marshes[9, 12], it can also be found inland near salt mines or saline springs[9].
Edibility Rating	1 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 0.3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Leaves - raw[2, 5, 9, 12, 55]. An acrid tarry flavour, it can be added in small quantities to salads for its high content of vitamin C[1, 66, 183]. Pleasantly sharp[17, 172]. Rather less than pleasant to most tastes, though there are occasional people who like it[K].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antiscorbutic; Aperient; Disinfectant; Diuretic; Stimulant.

The herb is antiscorbutic, aperient, disinfectant, diuretic and stimulant[4, 9, 21, 46]. This plant was highly valued by sailors of the past and was taken in the diet daily as a preventative for scurvy on long sea trips. Applied externally, the bruised leaves are used to heal ulcers[9]. It is best used when fresh though it can also be harvested in late spring or early summer and dried for later use[9].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a cool shady position[27]. Grows wild on acid or calcareous soils, but it avoids shady positions. Prefers a sandy or gritty well-drained soil[200]. At one time this plant was commonly eaten, especially by sailors, for its high Vitamin C content which can prevent or cure scurvy[1, 183]. A polymorphic species, it hybridizes with C. danica and C. anglica[17]. A good bee plant[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 15°c[164].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.

[66] Freethy. R. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press 1985 ISBN 0-946284-51-2
Very readable, giving details on plant uses based on the authors own experiences.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. 0
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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