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Descurainia incana

Common name:	Mountain Tansy Mustard	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	(Bernh. ex Fisch.&C.A.Mey)Dorn.	Botanical references:	60, 274
Synonyms:	Sophia incisa ((Engelm.) Greene.), Descurainia richardsonii ((Sw.)Schulz.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America. A casual in Britain[17].
Habitat:	Found in many habitats at lower mountain elevations[60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	D. incana ssp. incana[B,P] D. incana ssp. incisa[B,C,CAL,P] D. incana ssp. viscosa[B,P] D. incana var. major[B,P] D. incana var. viscosa[B,P] D. incisa[B,C,P] D. richardsonii ssp. incisa[B,P] D. richardsonii ssp. viscosa[B,P] D. richardsonii var. sonnei[B,P] D. richardsonii var. viscosa[B,P] Sisymbrium incanum[B,P] Sisymbrium incisum[B,P] Sisymbrium viscosum[B,P] Sophia richardsonii[B,P] Sophia viscosa[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Mountain Tansy-mustard [B], Mountain Tansymustard [P], Richardson Tansymustard [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cana = grayed due to hairs; incana = gray;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Biennial growing to 1m. . It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

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

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Seed.

Young leaves - cooked. A bitter taste[85].
Seed - raw or cooked[46, 105]. The seed can be used as a mustard substitute in soups, stews etc. It can be roasted, ground into a powder then mixed with water to make a fine batter and drunk[257]. The seed is also ground into a meal and mixed with cereal flours when making bread, or as a thickening for soups etc[61, 85].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Poultice.

The plant has been used as a lotion for parts of the body that have become frozen in the cold and also as a lotion for sore throats[257]. No more information is given, but it is likely that the crushed seed was used for this since, being similar to mustard, it will probably have a rubefacient effect upon the skin, drawing more blood to that area of the body and thereby heating it[K].
The plant is mashed and applied to bad cuts[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have almost no information on this species but since it is a casual in Britain there should be no problems in cultivating it here and it is probably not too fussy about soil or situation. We suggest growing it in a dry to moist soil in a sunny position.
There is some confusion as to the correct name for this species with some authorities using the name D. richardsonii.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Descurainia incana ssp. incana (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Descurainia incana ssp. incisa (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Descurainia incana ssp. viscosa (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Descurainia richardsonii (a possible synonym).

[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.

[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.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is 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.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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

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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.