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Reseda odorata

Common name:	Mignonette	Family:	Resedaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. Africa - Egypt. An occasional garden escape in Britain[17].
Habitat:	a common weed, it also grows amongst rocks[245].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Mignonette [H], Garden Mignonette [P,B], Khuzami [E], Kokulu Muhabbet Cicegi [E], Mignonette [H,E], Sweet Mignonette [L], Thail Ath Thikh [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	odorata = scented; odora = fragrant;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Mignonette family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe; Iraq; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial growing to 0.45m by 0.3m . . It is in flower from June to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies) and insects. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 0/5 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 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

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Acrid; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Laxative; Resolvent.

The acrid root is diaphoretic, diuretic and laxative[240].
The seed is applied externally as a resolvent[240].

Other Uses

Dye; Essential.

An essential oil is obtained from the flowers[57, 61]. Used in perfumery[46, 74]. 1200 Kg of flowers yields 350gr absolute[46].
A yellow dye is obtained from the plant[168].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in any well-drained neutral to slightly alkaline soil in a sunny position or in some shade if the summers are long and hot[108, 200].
The flowers are very fragrant[245]. Plants are sometimes cultivated for the essential oil in their flowers[61].
A good plant for bees and butterflies[30, 200], it is also an important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterfly[30].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in the spring and only lightly cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. An autumn sowing usually succeeds in areas where winter temperatures do not fall below about -10°c[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are very fragrant[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for reseda odorata (a possible synonym).

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

References for the family Resedaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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.

[30] Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan 1982 ISBN 0-330-26642-x
An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.

[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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[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.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[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.

[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.

Readers Comments

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

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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.