Cochlearia danica

Cochlearia danica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Brassicaceae
Genus:	Cochlearia
Species:	C. danica
Binomial name
Cochlearia danica L.

Cochlearia danica, or Danish scurvygrass,^[1] is a flowering plant of the genus Cochlearia in the family Brassicaceae.

A salt-tolerant (normally) coastal plant which is now flourishing along roads and motorways in Europe, especially under the crash barriers in the central reservation. Its success has been attributed to its ability to survive the effects of salts distributed by gritters in winter and its small seeds being spread by the high speed of cars in the fast lane.^[2]

Full of Vitamin C, it gets its name from sailors chewing it to avoid scurvy. The mauve flowers are 4-5mm in diameter.^[3]

Image gallery

• 

  Cochlearia danica illustrated by E. Hallier 1883 .

• 

  Scurvy-grass growing in the central reservation of the A1120 in the UK.

• 

  Cochlearia danica, flower

• 

  Cochlearia danica growing in its natural habitat, the shingle zone of a marine beach

• 

  Cochlearia danica growing at Granton Docks and Harbour, Edinburgh, UK

References

1. "BSBI List 2007" (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
2. Danish scurvy grass thrives in gritted road conditions BBC News Wales, 21 January 2013
3. Danish Scurvy Grass, Plant Identification.co.uk, accessed February 2011