Back to main Search Page

Silaum silaus - (L.)Schinz.&Thel.

Pepper Saxifrage

Author	(L.)Schinz.&Thel.	Botanical references	17
Family	Umbelliferae	Genus	Silaum
Synonyms	Silaus flavescens - Bernh. Silaus pratensis - Besser.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, south and east from Sweden to the Mediterranean and Siberia.
Habitat	Meadows and grassy banks, avoiding shady positions[17].
Edibility Rating	1 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Meadow;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Leaves - cooked[2]. They are sometimes used as an acid tasting potherb[105, 183].

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.

None known

Other Uses

None known

Scented Plants

Plant: Crushed

The whole plant, when bruised, emits a most unpleasant smell of sulphuretted hydrogen which is difficult to remove from the skin. If eaten by cattle, the plant will impart its smell to the milk[245].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils and can be grown in the summer meadow. The whole plant, when bruised, emits a most unpleasant smell of sulphured hydrogen which is difficult to remove from the skin. If eaten by cattle, the plant will impart its smell to the milk[245].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer. If you have enough seed then an outdoor sowing in situ in the spring should also succeed.

Links

References

[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.

[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.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

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.

Silaum silaus

Brian Cave Sat Aug 9 2008

L'Abbé H. Coste- Flore de la France Tome II page 187 writes under Silaus pratensis-- 'Passe pour diurétique et efficace contre la gravelle.' i.e. useful as diuretic and good against kidney stones. I have not found any corroboration of this.

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).