Common Name: Thale Cress

General Information

Arabidopsis thaliana is an erect, annual, occasionally biennial, plant; it usually grows 5 - 30cm tall, exceptionally to 50cm. The plant forms a basal rosette of leaves and a single stem (sometimes more) that can be unbranched or branched[, , ].
Thale Cress was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced (in 2000), and is widely used in molecular and developmental biology as the archetypal flowering plant model organism[]. It is grown on a large scale in controlled conditions to provide materials for plant research. In addition, the plant is also sometimes used on a local level as a food and a medicine.
The plant is a weed of disturbed ground, including areas of cultivation. It has spread widely around the world as a result of human activity[]. As an annual, the plants will die and usually self-sow for the following year. Seed will survive in the soil for many years and plants are likely to reappear for a long time afterwards.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

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Range

Temperate Eurasia from the Atlantic to the Caucasus, central Asia, China, Himalayas; N. Africa - Morocco to China and eastern Mediterranean.

Habitat

Walls and banks, hedgerows and waste places, and on dry soils[]. A pioneer of rocky ground, dunes, open sandy and calcareous habitats; also found in various disturbed habitats, including as a weed of gardens, waste ground and along railway lines.

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.15 m
Pollinators	Self, Insects
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers open, light conditions in free-draining soil such as sand or sandy loam.
The plant can complete its entire life-cycle in as little as six weeks.
More than 99% of the flowers are self-fertilized, usually before they even open.

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw or cooked. The leaves are quite hairy and not that pleasant[].

Medicinal

The plant is used to treat asthma, throat and chest complaints, sores in the mouth[].

Other Uses

Arabidopsis thaliana is the most widely used flowering plant as a model organism for studies in genetics, development, physiology, biochemistry, and related fields. Its small genome size (fully sequenced in the year 2000), chromosome number, fast growth cycle (from seed germination to set in four to six weeks), small size (hundreds can be grown in a pot and thousands in a growth chamber), autogamous breeding system (induced mutations are expressed in two generations), and ability to grow on various synthetic media, all make the species an ideal system in experimental biology[, ].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ.