| Hedge-mustard | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Sisymbrium |
| Species: | S. officinale |
| Binomial name | |
| Sisymbrium officinale | |
| Synonyms | |
Erysimum officinaleL. | |
Sisymbrium officinale, the hedge mustard, [1] (formerly Erysimum officinale) is a plant in the family Brassicaceae.
It is distinct from the mustard plants which belong to the genus Brassica . S. officinale is similar to other Sisymbrium, but differs in its tall, erect stems with tiny flowers and fruits that are compacted parallel to the stem instead of hanging free. S.officinale grows to 80 cm high. The lower leaves are broad with two or three lateral lobes. The flowers are about 4 mm across and yellow. Fruits are long and without hairs when young but show hairs when mature and reach 18 mm long on racemes pressed close to the stems. [2]
Hedge-mustard is food for the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, such as the small white ( Pieris rapae ).
Found in Ireland, [3] Wales and England and also in the highlands of Scotland. [4] It is found on roadsides, wasteland and as a weed of arable land. A native of Europe and North Africa, it is now well-established throughout the world.
This plant is widely cultivated across Europe for its edible leaves and seeds. It is widely used as a condiment in Northern Europe (particularly Denmark, Norway and Germany).
The leaves have a bitter cabbage-like flavour and they are used either in salads or cooked as a leaf vegetable (in cultivar versions). The seeds have been used to make mustard pastes in Europe. [5]
The Greeks believed it was an antidote to all poisons. In folk medicine, it was used to soothe sore throats - indeed one French name for it is the herbe aux chantres (the singers' plant). This plant "grows by our roadsides and on waste ground, where it is a common weed, with a peculiar aptitude for collecting and retaining dust...it is named by the French the 'Singer's Plant,' it having been considered up to the time of Louis XIV an infallible remedy for loss of voice. Jean Racine, writing to Nicolas Boileau, recommends him to try the syrup...in order to be cured of voicelessness." [6] It is "good for all diseases of the chest and lungs, hoarseness of voice...the juice...made into a syrup with honey or sugar, is no less effectual...for all other coughs, wheezing and shortness of breath...the seed is held to be a special remedy against poison and venom." [7] It was "formerly used for hoarseness, weak lungs and to help the voice." [8] Herbalists use the juice and flowers for bronchitis and stomach ailments, among other uses, and as a revitalizer. [9] In Tibetan medicine it is used to repress the symptoms of food poisoning. [10]
Persicaria perfoliata is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family. Common names include mile-a-minute, devil's tail, giant climbing tearthumb, and Asiatic tearthumb. It is a trailing herbaceous annual vine with barbed stems and triangular leaves. It is native to most of temperate and tropical eastern Asia, occurring from eastern Russia and Japan in the north, and the range extending to the Philippines and India in the south. P. perfoliata is an aggressive, highly invasive weed.
Alliaria petiolata, or garlic mustard, is a biennial flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, north-western Africa, Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern Scandinavia, and east to northern Pakistan and Xinjiang in western China.
Lamium purpureum, known as red dead-nettle, purple dead-nettle, or purple archangel, is an annual herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe and Asia.
Rumex crispus, the curly dock, curled dock or yellow dock, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia.
Hesperis matronalis is an herbaceous plant species in the family Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening, Good & Plenties, and winter gilliflower.
Plantago lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf, lamb's tongue, and buckhorn. It is a common weed on cultivated or disturbed land.
Ranunculus acris is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, and is one of the more common buttercups across Europe and temperate Eurasia. Common names include meadow buttercup, tall buttercup, common buttercup and giant buttercup.
Lithospermum officinale, or common gromwell or European stoneseed, is a flowering plant species in the family Boraginaceae, native to Eurasia. It is the host plant for caterpillars of the monophagous moth Ethmia dodecea.
Salpichroa origanifolia is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common names lily of the valley vine, pampas lily-of-the-valley or cock's-eggs.
Sisymbrium irio, the London rocket, is a plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual herb exceeding three feet in height with open, slender stem branches. The flowers are small with four pale yellow petals. The basal leaves are broad and often lobed, while the upper leaves are linear in shape and up to four inches long. The fruit is a long narrow cylindrical silique which stays green when ripe. The younger pods overtop the flowers. When dried the fruit has small red oblong seeds.
Sinapis arvensis, the charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard, or charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant of the genus Sinapis in the family Brassicaceae. It is found in the fields of North Africa, Asia and Europe. Pieris rapae, the small white butterfly, and Pieris napi, the green veined white butterfly are significant consumers of charlock during their larval stages.
Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion or commondandelion, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the dandelion genus in the family Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tufted fruits that disperse in the wind. These balls are usually called "clocks" in both British and American English. The name "blowball" is also used.
Cynoglossum officinale is a herbaceous plant of the family Boraginaceae.
Diplotaxis tenuifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name perennial wall-rocket. It is native to Europe and West Asia, where it grows on disturbed ground and roadsides, and it can now be found throughout much of the temperate world where it has naturalized. In recent years it has increasingly been cultivated to produce salad leaves, which are marketed as wild rocket in Britain or arugula in the US. It is easily confused with garden rocket, which has similar uses.
Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and North America, but the two most commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, were introduced from Europe into North America, where they now propagate as wildflowers. Both species are edible in their entirety. The common name dandelion is also given to specific members of the genus.
Galium aparine, with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed and sticky willy among others, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae.
Lepidium didymum, the lesser swine-cress, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.
Sisymbrium loeselii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by several common names, including small tumbleweed mustard, false London-rocket, throughe(ver:kashmiri) and tall hedge mustard. It is native to Eurasia, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and in some areas a common roadside weed.
Sisymbrium orientale is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Indian hedgemustard and eastern rocket. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and it can be found throughout much of the temperate world as an introduced species and in some areas a common roadside weed. It is an annual herb producing a hairy, branching stem up to about 30 centimeters tall. The basal leaves are divided into deep lobes or toothed leaflets. Leaves higher on the stem have lance-shaped blades with small separate lobes near the base. The top of the stem is occupied by a raceme of flowers with light yellow petals each measuring up to a centimeter long. The fruit is a silique which can be up to 10 centimeters long.
Achyranthes aspera is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropical world. It can be found in many places growing as an introduced species and a common weed. It is an invasive species in some areas, including many Pacific Islands environments.
