Reichardia picroides
| Reichardia picroides | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Reichardia picroides (common name: french scorzonera)
Propagation: Seed - sow March/April in a warm position outdoors and then in succession if required until the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination is usually very good and quick. We usually make a sowing in the spring in the greenhouse, pricking out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and then planting them out in late spring or early summer. Established plants can self-sow quite freely in disturbed ground.
Cultivation: Easily grown in any moderately fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[1]. Grows best in a shady position in summer[2], where it will produce better quality leaves[K]. It prefers plenty of moisture in the growing season[1], though it is fairly drought tolerant once established[K]. Plants are very tolerant of poor soils[K].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[1]. It is likely to be hardier when grown in a soil on the poor soil, though the leaves will not be so tender nor so freely produced[K]. Plants are also likely to be hardier in well-drained soils and dislike very wet weather[K].
Plants are often short-lived, though they are self-sowing quite freely in Cornwall[K].
A very easily grown plant, it has also proved to be almost totally slug-proof, even in a very heavily slug-infested garden[K].
Formerly cultivated as a cut and come again salad crop in S. Europe[3][2], producing a harvestable yield within 10 weeks of sowing the seed[K]. This plant is possibly useful as a winter salad crop, growing in a sunny fairly sheltered position in Cornwall it has been yielding very well and continuously for a period of 18 months since the summer of 1993[K]. It requires more investigation[K].
Range: S. Europe.
Habitat: Cultivated soil and waste places[4].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[5][3][2][6][7]. Mild and good[2]. A pleasant agreeable flavour with a slight sweetness and very little fibre, it makes a very acceptable lettuce substitute and we use it in large quantities in salads[K]. The older leaves seem to be even nicer, even when the plant is in flower[K].
Root - raw or cooked[5][8][9].
Pollinators: Insects
Notes: An excellent salad, grow some in a sunny position and some in a more shady position in the bed by the road.
We can supply in the summer.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Early Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: R. macrophylla. Picridium vulgare.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Thompson, Robert. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son, 1878.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Vilmorin-Andrieux. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Larkcom, Joy. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn, 1980.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.