Sisymbrium irio
| London Rocket | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Sisymbrium |
| Species: | S. irio |
| Binomial name | |
| Sisymbrium irio L. | |
Sisymbrium irio, known as London rocket,[1] is a plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual herb exceeding three feet in height with open, slender stem branches. The flowers are small with four pale yellow petals. The basal leaves are broad and often lobed, while the upper leaves are linear in shape and up to four inches long. The fruit is a long narrow cylindrical silique which stays green when ripe. The younger pods overtop the flowers. When dried the fruit has small red oblong seeds. The common name "London rocket" comes from its abundance after the Great Fire of London in 1666.[2] However, Dr E J Salisbury, in his study of the bombsites of London after the Great Fire of 1940, "failed to find a single specimen, nor has any other reliable observer reported it", according to R. S. R. Fitter.[3][4]
This species is considered a weed in some areas.
Uses
London rocket is used in the Middle East to treat coughs and chest congestion, to relieve rheumatism, to detoxify the liver and spleen, and to reduce swelling and clean wounds.[5] The Bedouin use the leaf of London Rocket as a tobacco substitute.[6]
Notes
- ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ↑ A.R. Clapham, E.F. Warburg, T.G. Tutin. Flora of the British Isles.
- ↑ Fitter, R. S. R. (1945). London's Natural History. London: Collins. p. 231. ISBN 1-870630-69-6.
- ↑ The Ecology of Transportation, p. 11, at Google Books
- ↑ Lev, Efraima (2003) "Sisymbrium irio" Medicinal substances in Jerusalem from early times to the present day Archaeopress, Oxford, UK, p. 62, ISBN 978-1-84171-490-5
- ↑ Bailey, Clinton and Danin, Avinoam (1981) "Bedouin Plant Utilization in Sinai and the Negev" Economic Botany 35(2): pp. 145-162, p. 158
References
- Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L.; Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 0-89672-614-2
- Ray, Jarren et al. (2005) "Moisture and Temperature Requirements for London Rocket (Sisymbrium irio) Emergence" Weed Science 53(2): pp. 187–192
- Fitter, R. S. R. (1945). London's Natural History. London: Collins. p. 231. ISBN 1-870630-69-6.
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