Cochlearia

Cochlearia
The unrelated Scurvy-grass Sorrel (Oxalis enneaphylla) is sometimes simply called "scurvygrass".
For the Roman era spoons see Cochlearia (spoon)
Scurvy-grass
Cochlearia offcinalis subsp. pyrenaica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Cochlearia
L.
Species

About 25 species, see text

Scurvy-grass (Cochlearia species; a.k.a. Scurvy grass, Scurvygrass, or Spoonwort) is a genus of about 30 species of annual and perennial herbs in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. They are widely distributed in temperate and arctic areas of the northern hemisphere, most commonly found in coastal regions, on cliff-tops and salt marshes where their high tolerance of salt enables them to avoid competition from larger, but less salt-tolerant plants; they also occur in alpine habitats in mountains and tundra.

They form low, rounded or creeping plants, typically 5–20 cm tall. The leaves are smoothly rounded, roughly spoon-shaped (the scientific name Cochlearia derives from the Latinized form, cocleare, of the Greek κοχλιάριον, kokhliárion, a spoon; this a diminutive of κόχλος, kókhlos, seashell), or in some species, lobed; typically 1–5 cm long, and with a fleshy texture. The flowers are white with four petals and are borne in short racemes.

Contents

Selected species

About 30 species are usually accepted; several others usually treated as subspecies of C. officinalis are accepted as distinct species by some botanists.

  • Cochlearia acutangula
  • Cochlearia aestuaria – Estuarine Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia alatipes
  • Cochlearia anglica – English Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia aragonensis
  • Cochlearia changhuaensis
  • Cochlearia cyclocarpa – Roundfruit Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia danica – Early or Danish Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia fenestrata – Arctic Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia formosana
  • Cochlearia fumarioides
  • Cochlearia furcatopilosa
  • Cochlearia glastifolia
  • Cochlearia groenlandica – Greenland Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia henryi
  • Cochlearia hui
  • Cochlearia lichuanensis
  • Cochlearia longistyla
  • Cochlearia megalosperma
  • Cochlearia microcarpa
  • Cochlearia oblongifolia – East Asian Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia officinalis – Common Scurvy-grass (including C. excelsa, C. pyrenaica, C. scotica)
  • Cochlearia paradoxa
  • Cochlearia rivulorum
  • Cochlearia rupicola
  • Cochlearia sessilifolia – Sessile-leaved or Alaskan Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia sinuata
  • Cochlearia tatrae
  • Cochlearia tridactylites – Three-fingered Scurvy-grass
  • Cochlearia warburgii

Two species formerly included in the genus Cochlearia are now usually treated in separate genera:

  • Horseradish Armoracia rusticana (previously Cochlearia armoracia)
  • Wasabi Wasabia japonica (previously Cochlearia wasabi)

Cook's scurvy grass, Lepidium oleraceum, was used by James Cook to prevent scurvy, but is now almost extinct.[1]

Uses

Scurvy-grass was extensively eaten in the past by sailors suffering from scurvy after returning from long voyages, as the leaves are rich in vitamin C, which cures this deficiency disease resulting from a lack of fresh vegetables in the diet. The leaves, which have a strong peppery taste similar to the related horseradish and watercress, are also sometimes used in salads.

Scurvy-grass Sorrel (Oxalis enneaphylla) is an unrelated plant from southern South America and the Falkland Islands that was also used to treat scurvy.

Scurvy-grass and roads

The advent of modern fast roads treated with salt in winter for ice clearance has resulted in the colonisation by scurvy-grass of many inland areas where it formerly did not occur. The scurvy-grass seeds become trapped on car wheels, transported often for a considerable distance, and then washed off, to grow in the salt-rich soil at the side of the road where other plants cannot survive. For the rapid colonisation of a British inland county between 1989–2002, see Cochlearia danica in Worcestershire.

References

Further reading


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cochlearia — Cochléaires …   Wikipédia en Français

  • cochléaria — ⇒COCHLÉARIA, subst. masc. Plante herbacée (Crucifères) à feuilles incurvées en cuiller, à fleurs blanches ou mauves, croissant dans les lieux humides de l hémisphère nord, ayant pour principale espèce le cochléaria officinal ou herbe aux cuillers …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cochlearia — (C. L.), Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Cruciferae Alyssineae, 1. Ordn. 15. Kl. L.; Blüthen weiß, Schötchen kugelig od. elliptisch aufgedunsen, Griffel auf der Zwischenwand bleibend, Staubfäden zahnlos; Arten: C. armoracia (Meerrettig), an… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Cochlearĭa — L., (Löffelkraut), Gattung der Kruziferen, ausdauernde oder einjährige kahle Kräuter mit abwechselnden, ganzen oder gelappten Blättern, meist weißen Blüten in endständigen Trauben und elliptischen oder kugeligen Schötchen. Etwa 15 Arten im Norden …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cochlearia — Cochlearĭa L., Löffelkraut, Pflanzengattg. der Kruziferen. C. officinālis L. (gemeines Löffelkraut, Skorbutkraut), im nördl. Europa am Meeresstrande wachsend, offizinell gegen Skorbut, auch zu Salat verwendet. C. armoracĭa L. (Armoracĭa rusticāna …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • COCHLEARIA — Sardiniae locus. Antonin …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • cochléaria — COCHLÉARIA. s. m. Plante qu on nomme aussi Herbe aux cuillers, et qui porte ce dernier nom, parce que ses feuilles ont la forme d un cuilleron. C est un antiscorbutique très connu …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • Cochlearia —   Cochlearia C. excelsa …   Wikipedia Español

  • Cochlearia —  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Cochlearius ni Cochlearium. Cochléaires …   Wikipédia en Français

  • cochléaria — (ko klé a ri a) s. m. Nom d un genre de crucifères et entre autres du cochléaria (cochlearia officinalis, L.), dit vulgairement cranson, herbe aux cuillers, herbe au scorbut ou herbe aux scorbutiques ; et du raifort (cochlearia rustica, L.), dit… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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