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Cochlearia danica

Common name:	Danish Scurvy Grass	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Coastal regions of Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Atlantic Spain and Portugal.
Habitat:	Sandy and rocky shores, walls and banks by the sea and along railway lines, avoiding acid soils[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Danish Scurvy-grass [H,L], Deens Lepelblad [D], Early Scurvygrass [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cochlear = spoon shaped;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.2m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from June to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, Walls.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked[100, 105, 177]. Used as a flavouring in salads, it is considered to be superior to C. officinalis[183]. The leaves are rich in vitamin C[100], though very few people will actually enjoy the pungent flavour[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiscorbutic.

The leaves are a rich source of vitamin C and are used as an antiscorbutic[100].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a damp well-drained soil. Avoids acid soils in the wild. Prefers a sandy or gritty well-drained soil[200].
Hybridizes with C. officinalis[17].

Propagation

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

Suppliers

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

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names 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.

[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.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[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.

[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.

[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.

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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Cochlearia+danica
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.