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Sisymbrium irio

Common name:	London Rocket	Family:	Cruciferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 50
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Mediterranean. Long naturalized or possibly native in Britain[17].
Habitat:	Roadsides, walls and waste places[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.
	Norta irio[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Brede Raket [D], Erysimon [E], London Rocket [B], London-rocket [L], Londonrocket [P], Matacandil [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Capparales. Renamed to Brassicaceae -- Mustard family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe; Mexico(Seri); Spain
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.5m. . It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects and self?. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 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 dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, In Walls, In South Wall, In East Wall, In West Wall.

Edible Uses

Drink; Flowers; Leaves; Seed.

Immature leaves - raw or cooked[177, 257]. Used as greens[257]. A famine food, it is only eaten when better foods are in short supply[257].
Seed - raw or cooked[257]. The seed can be eaten as piñole[257]. It can also be dried, ground into a powder then mixed with water and used as a gruel[257]. The seed can be mixed with water to make a drink[257].
Flowers - raw[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Expectorant; Ophthalmic; Poultice; Restorative; Stimulant.

The seeds are expectorant, restorative and stimulant[240]. They are used in the treatment of asthma[240]. Externally, they are used as a stimulating poultice[240]. The seeds have been placed under the lids of sore eyes in order to cause weeping and thereby wash foreign matter out of the eye[257].
An infusion of the leaves is used in treating affections of the throat and chest[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

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

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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.