Coronopus didymus

'Lesser Swine-cress'

(Syn. Lepidium didymum)

[Ex. Somerset, England]

Brassicaceae: an annual or biennial herb with decumbent or ascending and glabrous green stems, up to 40cm long, radiating from a central position. Found in waste places, roadsides and cultivated fields. The flowers are inconspicuous, the four white petals very short or absent. Blooming from July – September. The leaves are pinnate and alternate and can reach a length of 5cm. Of uncertain origin, but is often cited as native to South America, mainly Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. It has been introduced elsewhere as a weed of cultivation. It has naturalised across the globe, from Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia, North America and South America. In Britain it had been recorded from the wild by 1778, chiefly in England and the south of Ireland.

USES:

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, they have a strong hot cress-like flavour.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Surface sow seeds in spring. Warm and sunny. Grow in full sun to part shade, in a well-drained soil. Self-seeds happily.

HARVESTED: 2024

 

APPROX. 50 SEEDS