| 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 ).
Once indigenous to North Africa and southern Europe, [3] but found in Ireland, [4] Wales and England and also in the highlands of Scotland. [5] It is found on roadsides, wasteland and as a weed of arable land. 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. [6]
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." [7] 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." [8] It was "formerly used for hoarseness, weak lungs and to help the voice." [9] Herbalists use the juice and flowers for bronchitis and stomach ailments, among other uses, and as a revitalizer. [10] In Tibetan medicine it is used to repress the symptoms of food poisoning. [11]
Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the genus Solanum of the family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, felonwort, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.
Artemisia vulgaris, the common mugwort, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is one of several species in the genus Artemisia commonly known as mugwort, although Artemisia vulgaris is the species most often called mugwort. It is also occasionally known as riverside wormwood, felon herb, chrysanthemum weed, wild wormwood, old Uncle Henry, sailor's tobacco, naughty man, old man, or St. John's plant. Mugworts have been used medicinally and as culinary herbs.
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.
Aegopodium podagraria, commonly called ground elder, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of elder (Sambucus), which is not closely related. Other common names include herb gerard, bishop's weed, goutweed, gout wort, snow-in-the-mountain, English masterwort and wild masterwort. It is the type species of the genus Aegopodium. It is native to Europe and Asia, but has been introduced around the world as an ornamental plant, where it occasionally poses an ecological threat as an invasive exotic plant.
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.
Sisymbrium irio, London rocket, is a flowering plant in the cabbage family which is native to the Middle East, north Africa and southern Europe, and which has spread widely around the world as an invasive plant of dry, disturbed land in towns, deserts and farmland. It has traditionally been used as a medicinal herb for a variety of ailments. Its English common name originated when it flourished after the Great Fire of London in 1666, although it is not native to Britain and it does not tend to persist there.
Rhamphospermum arvense, the charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard, or just charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is found in the fields of North Africa, Asia, Europe, and some other areas where it has been transported and naturalized. 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 herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy 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 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 western 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.
Symphytum officinale is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of Symphytum, it is known as comfrey. Internal or long-term topical use of comfrey is discouraged due to its strong potential to cause liver toxicity.
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 but the two most commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, were introduced from Europe into North America, where they are an invasive species. Dandelions thrive in temperate regions and can be found in yards, gardens, sides of roads, among crops, and in many other habitats. Both species are edible in their entirety and have a long history of consumption. The common name dandelion is also given to specific members of the genus.
Galium aparine, with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed, robin-run-the-hedge, goosegrass,and sticky willy, 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.
Mercurialis annua, annual mercury, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, where it occurs on bare, sandy soils in semi-arid regions. Its seeds are dispersed by harvester ants, which remove an oily coating that delays germination. In recent centuries, annual mercury has spread to northern Europe and many other parts of the world as an agricultural and urban weed. It has been studied for its complex genetics and breeding system. It is named after the Roman god Mercury, due to its association with fertility.
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.
Euphorbia hirta is a pantropical weed, originating from the tropical regions of the Americas. It is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways. It is widely used in traditional herbal medicine across many cultures, particularly for asthma, skin ailments, and hypertension. It is also consumed in herbal tea form as folk medicine for fevers in the Philippines, particularly for dengue fever and malaria.
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.
