Cochlearia

Scurvy Grass ( Cochlearia officinalis)

The spoon herbs ( Cochlearia ) are the only genus of the tribe Cochlearieae from the family of cruciferous plants ( Brassicaceae). They also occur in Central Europe.

Features

The spoon herbs are annuals, biennial or perennial herbaceous plants. They grow upright or nearly upright and are little branched. The plants are bare or only covered with scattered simple hairs. The leaves are often fleshy, simple and entire or toothed.

The inflorescence is a spike, usually umbrella-shaped. It consists of a few to many flowers and has no bracts. The flowers are small, usually white, rarely yellow or purple. The flower stem is ascending or spreading, ply, extended to fruit ripening often. The sepals are upstanding and on the basis of non- saccular. The petals are nailed obovate -oblong and short. There are six stamens. The lateral nectar glands are paired, are short and slightly triangular. A middle missing gland. The ovary is ovoid to spherical and contains few to many ovules. The style is short and wears a kopfige scar. The little pods are egg-shaped, spherical or ellipsoidal, slightly inflated and open to maturity. The flaps wear a distinct midrib and reticulate venation, they are not winged. The seeds are in two rows. They are small, oblong, slightly compressed and brown.

Distribution and systematics

The spoon herbs are found in most of the northern hemisphere. There are around 25 species

The occurring in Central Europe species are:

• English scurvy grass ( Cochlearia anglica L.)
• Bavarian scurvy grass ( Cochlearia bavarica Vogt ), endemic Bavaria
• Danish scurvy grass ( Cochlearia danica L.)
• Alpine scurvy grass ( Cochlearia excelsa Zahlbr. Ex Fritsch ), endemic to Austria
• Dick root scurvy grass ( Cochlearia macrorrhiza ( Schur ) Pobedimova ), endemic to Austria
• Scurvy Grass ( Cochlearia officinalis L.)
• Cochlearia polonica A. Froehl. , Endemic in southern Poland
• Pyrenees scurvy grass ( Cochlearia pyrenaica DC. )
• Cochlearia tatrae Borbás, endemic to the High Tatras

Other types are:

• Cochlearia acaulis Desf. ( Syn: Jonopsidium acaule ( Desf. ) Rchb. ); Endemic species from Portugal
• Cochlearia aestuaria ( Lloyd) Heywood, endemic to the Atlantic coast of Spain and France
• Cochlearia aragonensis Coste & Soulie, endemic to the mountains in northeast Spain
• Cochlearia borzaeana ( Coman & Nyaudy ) Pobed. , Endemic to the Eastern Carpathians
• Cochlearia fenestrata R. Br, is found in the Arctic
• Cochlearia glastifolia L.; Home was originally Spain, but also comes out in Portugal, France and Italy introduced before
• Cochlearia groenlandica L., occurs in the Arctic
• Cochlearia megalosperma ( Maire ) Vogt, occurs in the mountains of Spain
• Cochlearia oblongifolia DC.
• Cochlearia tridactylites Banks ex DC.

The name derives from the Latin word Cochlearia for spoons, cochlear, and refers to the basal leaves of Real spoon herb. The German name refers to it.

Documents

• Cochlearia retrieved in the Flora of Pakistan, 10 July 2009.
• Germplasm Resources Information Network ( GRIN); accessed on November 22, 2013