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Matthiola incana

Common name:	Stock	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	(L.)R.Br.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Cheiranthus incanus (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. Europe. Possibly native to S. England.
Habitat:	Sea cliffs and as an escape from cultivation, avoiding acid soils[17]. Rocky and sandy places by the sea[260].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Stock [L], Hoary Stock [L], Ten-weeks Stock [B], Tenweeks Stock [P],
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
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	India

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.3m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to July, and the seeds ripen in August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 2/5 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. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves Seedpod.

Flowers - eaten as a vegetable or used as a garnish, especially with sweet desserts[183]. Highly fragrant[183].
Seedpods[105, 183]. Used as a famine food when all else fails[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antidote Aphrodisiac Bitter Diuretic Expectorant Stimulant Stomachic Tonic.

The seeds are aphrodisiac, bitter, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and tonic[240]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of cancer and when mixed with wine it has been used as an antidote to poisonous bites[240].

Other Uses

Dye.

A dark blue or purple dye is obtained from the flowers[168].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1]. Prefers a fertile neutral or slightly alkaline soil in full sun[200]. Plants grow best in a sandy soil in a warm, sheltered position[260].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is also a good butterfly plant[17].
Plants are usually biennial or short-lived perennials and are normally grown as annuals in the garden[188]. The wild plant is a perennial with an almost shrubby nature. Garden forms have been bred to have annual or biennial characteristics[260].
The flowers have a strong sweet scent[245].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse[1]. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
The seed can also be sown outdoors in situ in mid to late spring.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a strong sweet scent[245].

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
[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.
[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

[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.

[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.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[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.

[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.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

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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