Topic: Who can identify this delicious bittercress

[Vinlander]

I thought it best to continue this as its own thread.

I've looked at hundreds of images and it seems most similar to Lepidium (pepperwort), but the ones that look closest (L.oblongum/didymum) are both N.American though they are "naturalised" here (I'm not sure if that means it's rare or not).

The flavour in small doses is delicious, moreish (though more rapidly becomes too much), and has a warm 'long' 'depth' like good rocket.

I think it is much nicer than the bitter flavours normally found in an italian bitter salad, though not quite as interesting as rue (NB. it's dangerous to eat too much rue, and the sap is corrosive).

I have attached some of my own photos. Each photo is on macro - covers about 2-3cm.

Unfortunately it's too late in the season to find juvenile plants right now - a pity because they look very different with multiple stems creeping outward like the tentacles of an octopus, and the stems are unbranched with uniformly tiny leaves all the way up them so they look ferny - more like a brittlestar than an octopus.

This means the juvenile plants look more like maca - Lepidium mayenii - but unfortunately never produce the swollen root.

Thanks.

[galina]

I am wondering whether you have a chance cross there, a new type.  I have also never seen this plant anywhere, but obviously I haven't studied cresses as much as you have.  There are certainly 'carrot type' foliage garden cresses and round leaf types.  Perhaps you had a cross with another cress?

Could it be a member of the Bunias species?  Not Turkish rocket, bunias orientalis, but another perhaps?  Just a thought-  (looking at the flower/seed stem on the picture on the left).

If it is a lepidium, then possibly Lepidium Ruderale?

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidium_ruderale

Sorry Vinlander, I'm not much help here    just interested in the identification     

[Vinlander]

Actually that's a huge help - by supporting the possibility that is rare (but not rare on my plot) you've revived the best match I've found so far which is Lepidium didymum.

The best image I've found on the web is Photo #5 in the right hand column of this French URL

http://www.florealpes.com/comparaison.php?zoomph2=5&PHPSESSID=7ccc58be3ee7ed83bc4c7bb3d46bab71#visiga

It clearly has the same seeds as my photo - twin discs joined in a figure-8.

Do you agree?

I have to point out that it tastes really "healthy"  - moreso than watercress or landcress - possibly because it tastes like the essence of things that produce my favourite mustard oils - zingy brussels sprouts and the "broccoli" produced by giant mustards when they flower.

Maybe it does more than just resemble "maca" L. mayenii ??


Cheers.

[galina]

Vinlander, sorry I can't get the French site loading. 

[galina]

Vinlander, sorry I can't get the French site loading. 

Getting somewhere:
http://www.florealpes.com/resultat.php?PHPSESSID=35b3bf74dfc9c57f0a80a95d3ce6b811&chaine=lepidium

http://www.florealpes.com/fiche_lepidiumdydimum.php

listed in PFAF
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lepidium+didymum

native in Britain.  What do you think of PFAF's summary, especially flowering time?

Also known as 'Lesser Swine Cress' or Coronopus Didymus and there is a Wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronopus_didymus

You could well have identified it correctly Vinlander and it isn't a very rare plant and it is naturalised in Britain, so why not in your garden (and in many others, but we are not looking for it).

Another name is Senebiera Didyma, which brings up another lot of urls for the same plant. 

[galina]

What happens when you grind the mature seeds in an attempt to make a type of mustard? ie mix powder with water and/or oil and lemon juice/vinegar with a dash of salt?

Could be a delightful and unusual condiment? 

[Vinlander]

Thanks Galina - sorry I didn't reply earlier, I've been unavoidably AFK for the last fortnight.

It's nice to build up a consensus that it is edible - and though the picture in PFAF is missing the 8 shaped seed pairs I suppose it's even better to get a consensus that anything like it is edible.

I must say I prefer the 'pepperweed' name to the 'swine cress' one, but no matter...

I've seen the 'wart' part of the name rendered as wort or water on other sites. Thank Linnaeus for binomials!

Cheers.

[Silverleaf]

Can I piggyback on this thread and ask if anyone knows what this one is? I'm pretty sure it's a brassica as it has four-petalled flowers and long seed pods and doesn't smell very nice - it looks like a cress of some kind anyway.

Tastes a little bitter but not really peppery, mostly just "green"-tasting.

There's a bunch of it growing at the edge of the lawn where we removed some of the grass when we put in the new decking, but didn't get round to reseeding.

[galina]

One of the rockets as it has white flowers - probably.

[PondDragon]

Cardamine flexuosa/hirsuta. Very similar annual weeds.

[Vinlander]

Talking of edible weeds:

For years I've been using Land Cress as a sort of vigilante niche-blocker.. by letting it run to seed regularly I've managed to push at least some of the totally useless and/or poisonous annual weed species off my plot.

Yes it can end up in a row of seedlings occasionally but it's easy to spot and easy to lift - and generally comes out without leaving a hole for the precious seedlings to fall into. I also know I have many months of leisure before it seeds - if I ever wanted to knock it back.

It's got to the point where there's only one damned weed that will stop me in the middle of a job, make me drop my tools and run over with my trowel - and that's spurge (probably several species). The corrosive sap means I can't just pull it...

Anyway, now I've given Lepidium didymum "friendly" status I'm thinking of broadcasting rocket seed to push out the other bittercresses - I may use multiple species of rocket to find the best 'bouncer' to stand beside land cress at the door (to strain an analogy to breaking point).

Cheers.