If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Temperate Plants

Reichardia picroides

(L.) Roth

Asteraceae

+ Synonyms

Hypochaeris hirta Ucria

Picridium crassifolium Willk.

Picridium intermedium gracile Sch.Bip.

Picridium istriacum Gand.

Picridium lesbiacum P.Candargy

Picridium lingulatum Boiss.

Picridium maritimum Rchb.f.

Picridium mixtum Gand.

Picridium picroides (L.) H.Karst.

Picridium prenanthoides B.D.Jacks.

Picridium rupestre Pomel

Picridium sadleri Gand.

Picridium vulgare Desf.

Reichardia integrifolia Moench

Scorzonera picroides L.

Scorzonera variifolia Salisb.

Sonchus bocconi DC.

Sonchus picroides (L.) All.

Sonchus squamosus Lam.

Common Name: French Scorzonera

No Image.

General Information

Reichardia picroides is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a taproot. It forms a basal rosette of leaves with flowering stems that can grow up to 45cm tall.
The plant is often harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is sometimes cultivated as a salad crop.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

50
Title
Flora Europaea
Publication
 
Author
?
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1964
ISBN
-
Description
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Range

Mediterranean - found through most of the region, but absent from Egypt and Israel

Habitat

Cultivated soil and waste places[
50
Title
Flora Europaea
Publication
 
Author
?
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1964
ISBN
-
Description
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *  *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.45 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Reichardia picroides is not a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures down to around -5 to -10°c when fully dormant[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
Easily grown in any moderately fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
]. Grows best in a shady position in summer[
37
Title
The Gardener's Assistant.
Publication
 
Author
Thompson. B.
Publisher
Blackie and Son.
Year
1878
ISBN
-
Description
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
], where it will produce better quality leaves[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. It prefers plenty of moisture in the growing season[
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
], though it is fairly drought tolerant once established[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. Plants are very tolerant of poor soils[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
It is likely to be hardier when grown in a soil on the poor soil, though the leaves will not be so tender nor so freely produced[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. Plants are also likely to be hardier in well-drained soils and dislike very wet weather[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Plants are often short-lived, though they are self-sowing quite freely in Cornwall[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
A very easily grown plant, it has also proved to be almost totally slug-proof, even in a very heavily slug-infested garden[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Formerly cultivated as a cut and come again salad crop in S. Europe[
27
Title
The Vegetable Garden.
Publication
 
Author
Vilmorin. A.
Publisher
Ten Speed Press
Year
 
ISBN
0-89815-041-8
Description
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
,
37
Title
The Gardener's Assistant.
Publication
 
Author
Thompson. B.
Publisher
Blackie and Son.
Year
1878
ISBN
-
Description
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
], producing a harvestable yield within 10 weeks of sowing the seed[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. This plant is possibly useful as a winter salad crop, growing in a sunny fairly sheltered position in Cornwall it has been yielding very well and continuously for a period of 18 months since the summer of 1993[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. It requires more investigation[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw or cooked[
2
Title
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Hedrick. U. P.
Publisher
Dover Publications
Year
1972
ISBN
0-486-20459-6
Description
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
,
27
Title
The Vegetable Garden.
Publication
 
Author
Vilmorin. A.
Publisher
Ten Speed Press
Year
 
ISBN
0-89815-041-8
Description
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
,
37
Title
The Gardener's Assistant.
Publication
 
Author
Thompson. B.
Publisher
Blackie and Son.
Year
1878
ISBN
-
Description
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
,
52
Title
Salads all the Year Round.
Publication
 
Author
Larkcom. J.
Publisher
Hamlyn
Year
1980
ISBN
 
Description
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
,
105
Title
Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
Publisher
Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
Year
1976
ISBN
-
Description
The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
]. Mild and good[
37
Title
The Gardener's Assistant.
Publication
 
Author
Thompson. B.
Publisher
Blackie and Son.
Year
1878
ISBN
-
Description
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
]. A pleasant agreeable flavour with a slight sweetness and very little fibre, it makes a very acceptable lettuce substitute and we use it in large quantities in salads[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. The older leaves seem to be even nicer, even when the plant is in flower[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Root - raw or cooked[
2
Title
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Hedrick. U. P.
Publisher
Dover Publications
Year
1972
ISBN
0-486-20459-6
Description
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
,
177
Title
Plants for Human Consumption.
Publication
 
Author
Kunkel. G.
Publisher
Koeltz Scientific Books
Year
1984
ISBN
3874292169
Description
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
,
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
].

Medicinal

The leaves are depurative, diuretic, emollient, galactagogue, hypoglycaemic and tonic.

The roots are used in the treatment of cough, abdominal pains and kidney problems

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a warm position outdoors and then in succession if required until the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination is usually very good and quick. We usually make a sowing in the spring in the greenhouse, pricking out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and then planting them out in late spring or early summer. Established plants can self-sow quite freely in disturbed ground.
Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2024-11-08. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Reichardia+picroides>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.