Scurvy-grass
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213323909
2008-05-18T20:56:57Z
Selket
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added another name
{{Taxobox
| name = Scurvy-grass
| image = Cochlearia excelsa.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Cochlearia offcinalis'' subsp. ''pyrenaica''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Brassicales]]
| familia = [[Brassicaceae]]
| genus = '''''Cochlearia'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
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 plant|annual]] and [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[herb]]s in the [[cabbage]] family [[Brassicaceae]]. They are widely distributed in [[temperate]] and [[arctic]] areas of the [[northern hemisphere]], most commonly found in [[coast]]al regions, on [[cliff]]-tops and [[salt marsh]]es where their high tolerance of [[sodium chloride|salt]] enables them to avoid competition from larger, but less salt-tolerant plants; they also occur in [[Alpine climate|alpine]] habitats in [[mountain]]s 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 Latin ''cocleare'', a spoon), or in some species, lobed; typically 1–5 cm long, and with a fleshy texture. The [[flower]]s are white with four petals and are borne in short [[raceme]]s.
==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]] [[Lepidium oleraceum|oleraceum]], was used by [[James Cook]] to prevent scurvy, but is now almost extinct.[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10406289]
==Uses==
Scurvy-grass was extensively eaten in the past by [[sailor]]s 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 [[vegetable]]s in the diet. The leaves, which have a strong peppery taste similar to the related [[horseradish]] and [[watercress]], are also sometimes used in [[salad]]s.
[[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 [[road]]s 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 [[seed]]s become trapped on [[automobile|car]] [[wheel]]s, 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 [[United Kingdom|British]] inland [[county]] between [[1989]]–[[2002]], see [http://www.wbrc.org.uk/WorcRecd/Issue12/useold.htm ''Cochlearia danica'' in Worcestershire].
<gallery>
Image:scurvygras.jpg|''Cochlearia offcinalis'' on [[Bear Island]], [[Norway]]
Image:Koeh-186.jpg|19th century illustration of ''Cochlearia offcinalis''
</gallery>
==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Cochlearia&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=species Flora Europaea: ''Cochlearia'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/browse.aspx?flora_id=3&start_taxon_id=107484 Flora of China: ''Cochlearia'' species list]
[[Category:Brassicaceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[es:Cochlearia]]
[[fr:Cranson]]
[[pt:Cochlearia]]