Sisymbrium officinale
| Sisymbrium officinale | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Sisymbrium officinale (common name: hedge mustard)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ[1].
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but prefers a moist to dry acid to alkaline soil in full sun or light shade[1].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[1].
Hedge mustard grows well near oats but it inhibits the growth of turnips[2].
The plant has a peculiar aptitude for collecting and retaining dust[3]. This means that when growing near roads or other polluted places the leaves are seldom edible[K].
A food plant for the caterpillars of several butterfly and moth species[4].
Range: Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to N. Africa and the Near East.
Habitat: Hedge banks, uncultivated ground, waste ground, the sites of ruined buildings etc. It is a fairly common weed of cultivated land[5][6].
Edibility: Young shoots - raw or cooked[7][8][9]. A bitter cabbage-like flavour, they are used as a flavouring in salads or cooked as a potherb[10][K].
Seed - raw or cooked[11]. It can be ground into a powder and used as a gruel or as a mustard-like flavouring in soups etc[9][10].
Medicinal: The whole plant is said to be antiaphonic, diuretic, expectorant, laxative and stomachic[3][5][12][13]. This plant was at one time known as the 'singer's plant' because of its use in treating loss of the voice[5]. A strong infusion of the whole plant has been used in the treatment of throat complaints[3][1]. Excessive doses can affect the heart[1]. The dried plant is almost inactive, so it should only be used when freshly harvested[5].
Usage: Alkaline secretions from the growing roots help to sweeten an acid soil[2].
Pollinators: Self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Erysimum officinale.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.