Descurainia sophia
| Descurainia sophia | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Descurainia |
| Species: | D. sophia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Descurainia sophia | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Sisymbrium sophia L. | |
Descurainia sophia is a member of the family Brassicaceae.[1] Common names include flixweed, herb-Sophia and tansy mustard.[2] It reproduces by seeds. It is a dominant weed in dark brown prairie and black prairie soils of southern Alberta.[3] Its stem is erect, branched, and 4–30 in (10–76 cm) high.[4] It was once given to patients with dysentery and called by ancient herbalists Sophia Chirurgorum, "The Wisdom of Surgeons".[5] It is the type species of the genus Descurainia (named for French botanist and herbalist François Descurain (1658–1749)) and of the rejected genus Sophia Adans.[6][7]
Description
[edit | edit source]Descurainia sophia is an annual plant. It will sprout and grow in the fall and spends winter as a rosette. Growth resumes in the spring and plants flower by late spring.[8]
Culinary use
[edit | edit source]In Iran, the seeds are called khak-e shir (khakshir), and khak-e shir drinks are traditionally favored as thirst quencher during hot summer days.[9] Khakshir is also considered a medicinal substance in traditional Iranian medicine, consumed in varying combinations with other herbs and substances to gain effects ranging from antidiuretic to aphrodisiac.
China has a tradition of eating this plant, and its eating method is recorded in the Jiuhuang Bencao (Book of Famine Relief Herbals).
Cultural
[edit | edit source]In German, it is called the Sophienkraut and associated with Saint Sophia of Rome, who was invoked against late frosts.[10]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/soil/survey-reports/ab11/ab11_report.pdf Wyatt, Newton, Bowser and Odynsky, 1942. Soil Survey of Blackfoot and Calgary Sheets
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ botanical.com - A Modern Herbal | Mustards
- ^ Index Nominum Genericorum
- ^ Tropicos
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