Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Descurainia sophia

Common name:	Flixweed	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	(L.)Webb. ex Prantl.	Botanical references:	17, 60
Synonyms:	Sisymbrium sophia (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe to Asia. Possibly native to Britain[17].
Habitat:	Waste ground and roadsides[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Sisymbrium sofia[H] Sophia chirugorum[H] Sophia sophia[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Besen Rauke [E], Fejjailah [E], Flix Weed [E], Flixweed [H,L], Flixweed Tansymustard [FEIS], Herb Sophia [P], Herb-sophia [B], Hierba De Los Cirujanos [E], Sofia [E], Sofiekruid [E,D], T'Ing Li [E], Toore [E], Velar Sagesse [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain; China; France; Germany; Iraq; Kurdistan; Netherlands; Spain
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Colorado, Minnesota.

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Biennial growing to 0.9m. . 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 2/5 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 moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Leaves; Seed.

Young leaves and shoots - cooked[105, 272]. A bitter flavour[85]. Used as a potherb[183, 257].
Seed - raw or cooked[46]. A pungent taste, it is used as a mustard substitute[61, 74, 105, 183]. The seed can be ground into a powder, mixed with cornmeal and used to make bread, or as a thickening for soups etc[61, 85, 183]. It can also be sprouted and added to salads etc[183]. A nourishing and cooling beverage can be made by mixing the ground up seeds with water to make a thin batter[257]. The seed contains 25.5 - 29.9% protein, 26.9 - 39.7% fat and 3.6 - 3.9% ash on a zero moisture basis[218].

Composition

Seed (Dry weight): In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 0 Protein: 27.5 Fat: 33 Ash: 3.7
Source: [218]
Notes : The figures given here are median figures of a range that was given in the report.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiasthmatic; Antiscorbutic; Antitussive; Astringent; Cardiotonic; Demulcent; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Laxative; Poultice; Vermifuge.

A poultice of the plant has been used to ease the pain of toothache[257].
The juice of the plant has been used in the treatment of chronic coughs, hoarseness and ulcerated sore throats[4]. A strong decoction of the plant has proved excellent in the treatment of asthma[4].
The flowers and the leaves are antiscorbutic and astringent[218, 240].
The seed is considered to be cardiotonic, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative, restorative and tonic[218, 240]. It is used in the treatment of asthma, fevers, bronchitis, oedema and dysentery[176, 240]. It is also used in the treatment of worms and calculus complaints[240]. It is decocted with other herbs for treating various ailments[218]. The seeds have formed a special remedy for sciatica[4].
A poultice of the ground up seeds has been used on burns and sores[257].

Other Uses

Preservative.

A semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed[240]. Yields are not given[K].
The leaves have been stored with corn to prevent it from going bad[257].

Cultivation details

We have very little information on the needs of this species but, judging by its habitat it should succeed in most soils in a fairly sunny position.

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

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany 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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Sisymbrium sofia (a possible synonym).

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

References for Sisymbrium sophia (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany 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.

[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.

[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.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[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.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. 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

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

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?Descurainia+sophia
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Descurainia+sophia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Log In :: Privacy Policy :: Home :: Philosophy

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.