| Menu list goes here |
Herbal Database Search Results
Back
to: Pathways Main Search
Page For Metaphysical uses
visit The Witchs Haven
Sinapis arvensis
| Common name: |
Charlock |
Family: |
Cruciferae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
Brassica sinapis (Vis.), Brassica kaber ((DC.)L.C.Wheeler.), Brassica arvensis ((L.)Rabenh.) |
| Known Hazards: |
The plant is possibly poisonous once the seedpods have formed[76]. |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, south and east from Norway to N. Africa, Siberia and S.W. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Cultivated ground, usually on heavy calcareous soils[13, 17]. A serious weed of agriculture, especially in spring sown crops[1, 17]. |
| 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. |
| Brassica kaber var. pinnatifida[B,G,P]
Brassica kaber var. schkuhriana[B,P]
Brassica sinapistrum[G,H]
Moricandia arvensis[B,P]
S. arvensis subsp. arvensis[G]
S. arvensis var. orientalis[G]
S. arvensis var. schkuhriana[G]
S. orientalis[G]
S. schkuhriana[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Charlock [H,L,S], Charlock Mustard [P], Cherlock [H], Corn-mustard [B], Field Mustard [H], Garlock [H], Herik [D], Mostaza Criollo [E], Moutarde [E], Moutarde Blanche [E], Mustard [E], Purple Mistress [P], Purple-mistress [B], Runch [H], Yabani Hardal [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
arvensis = of cultivated fields;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Dominican Republic; Haiti; Turkey
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Western Australia. |
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.75m. It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to July, and the seeds ripen from May to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies.
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 can grow in heavy clay 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 moist soil.
The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Condiment; Flowers; Leaves; Oil; Seed.
Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 4, 5, 12, 74]. Somewhat hot, the young leaves
are used as a flavouring in salads, where they add a piquant flavour[9, 183].
Older leaves are used as a potherb[183]. It is best to use just the young
shoots and leaves in the spring, older leaves are bitter[9].
Flowering stems - cooked[9, 74]. A pleasant, cabbage/radish flavour, they
can be used as a broccoli substitute before the flowers open[183]. The stems
should be lightly steamed for no more than 5 minutes[9]. The flowers can also
be cooked as a vegetable or used as a garnish[183].
Seed - it can be sprouted and eaten raw[12]. A hot flavour, it can be added
to salads and sandwiches[183].
The seed can be ground into a powder and used as a food flavouring. It has a
hot mustard flavour[4, 9, 46, 115].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[1, 57, 74].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Bach.
The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for
prescribing it are 'Black depression', 'Melancholia' and 'Gloom'[209].
Other Uses
Oil.
An edible semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed. It is also used in
making soap[74] and burns well so can be used for lighting[4].
Cultivation details
Usually found on heavy alkaline soils in the wild[17]. Succeeds on most
soils. Dislikes shade.
The plant harbours an eelworm that attacks other crops[13]. It is therefore
best not to grow it in a garden setting.
Propagation
Seed - germinates in spring and autumn in the wild. It should not
really need much encouragement.
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 Brassica arvensis (a possible synonym).
References for Brassica kaber (a possible synonym).
References for Moricandia arvensis (a possible synonym).
References for Sinapis arvensis subsp. arvensis (a possible synonym).
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[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]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[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.
[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.
[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[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.
[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[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.
[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
[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.
[209] Chancellor. P. M. Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies C. W. Daniel Co. Ltd. 1985 ISBN 85207 002 0
Details the 38 remedies plus how and where to prescribe them.
Readers Comments
Main Search Page
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?Sinapis+arvensis
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Sinapis+arvensis
|
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.
|
|
