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Bunias orientalis

Common name:	Turkish Rocket	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America. Europe - Caucasus, S. Russia. Naturalized in Britain[17].
Habitat:	A weed of cultivated and waste ground[50, 200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Grote Hardvrucht [D], Hill Mustard [L], Turkish Warty-cabbage [B], Turkish Wartycabbage [P], Warty Cabbage [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	orientalis = eastern
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.9m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

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 and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves.

Leaves and young stems - raw or cooked[17, 61, 105, 177, 183]. The young leaves have a mild cabbage flavour that goes very well in a mixed salad, though some people find them indigestible[K]. The leaves are a bit hairy so we find them less than wonderful when eaten raw on their own[K]. The cooked leaves make an excellent vegetable[K]. The leaves are available early in the year, usually towards the end of winter, and the plant will continue to produce leaves until late autumn, with a bit of a gap when the plant is in flower[27, K].
Flower buds and flowering stems - raw or cooked[264]. A pleasant mild flavour with a delicate sweetness and cabbage-like flavour, they make an excellent broccoli substitute though they are rather smaller[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in any soil in a sunny position[1, 200]. Plants have also been seen growing exceedingly well in the dappled shade of a woodland garden[K].
Plants are quite tolerant of neglect, growing well amongst long grass on our Cornish trial ground[K]. The young spring growth can be quite badly damaged by slugs, though more mature plants grow away so quickly that this does not seem to be a problem[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow April in a cold frame. Germination is usually very quick and good. Prick out the seedlings into pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer.
The seed can also be sown in situ in the spring, though the seedlings are rather prone to slug damage[K].
Root cuttings 2 - 5cm in length succeed at any time during the growing season, though early spring as the plant comes into growth is best[K]. If the top 7 - 10cm of the plant is removed to supply root cuttings and divisions, the roots remaining in the soil usually regrow very quickly[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

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]).

[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.

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

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[264] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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