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Iberis amara

Common name:	Rocket Candytuft	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western and southern Europe, including Britain, to N. Africa.
Habitat:	Dry calcareous soils on hillsides and in cornfields[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	I. coronaria[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Annual Candytuft [B,P], Bitter Candytuft [H], Bittere Scheefbloem [D], Carraspique [E], Clown'S Mustard [E], Thalspi Blanc [E], Wild Candytuft [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	amara = bitter
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain France Spain

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.3m by 0.15m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to July. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, Walls.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The seeds are sometimes used as a source of mustard[61, 177, 183]. Pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed - an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulphur compound. The reaction takes 10 - 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard[238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiasthmatic Antirheumatic Antiscorbutic Homeopathy.

Little used in modern herbalism, rocket candytuft is a bitter-tasting tonic, aiding digestion and relieving wind and bloating[254]. It is traditionally taken to treat gout, rheumatism and arthritis[254].
All parts of the plant are antirheumatic and antiscorbutic[61]. The seeds are considered very useful in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and dropsy[4, 240]. The plant is gathered in the summer and can be dried for later use[254]. The seeds are harvested when fully ripe[254].
A common homeopathic remedy is made from the seeds[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a good, well-drained ordinary garden soil in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a calcareous soil but tolerates mildly acid soils[1]. Succeeds in poor soils[200] and on dry walls[1].
A very ornamental plant[1]. A fast growing plant[188], do not grow the plants too close together[1].
The flowers are sweetly scented[245].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ for summer flowering or late summer in situ for a spring flowering[200]. The seed germinates within 3 weeks.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are sweetly scented.

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]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for iberis amara (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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]).

[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.

[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.

[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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[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.

[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.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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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