Scurvy Grass

Scientific Names

• Cochlearia officinalis L.
• Crucifer family

Common Names

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Parts Usually Used

Leaves
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Scurvy grass is a biennial or perennial plant; the main root has many fibrous branch-roots and produces angular, furrowed stems as well as fleshy basal leaves. The basal leaves are oblong, reniform, or cordate; the scattered stem leaves are obovate to oblong and sessile or nearly so. Small which flowers grow in racemes from April to August. The fruit is a small, almost globose pod containing small, reddish-brown seeds.
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Where Found

Found wild in moist places in northern Europe and the northern parts of North America and Asia; also found cultivated.
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Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, stomachic, tonic
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Uses

As a source of vitamin C, scurvy grass has been used in the past to prevent and treat scurvy. Considered a good blood purifier and has been recommended for rheumatism, dropsy, and venereal diseases. The juice can be added to orange juice to make a healthful spring tonic.
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Formulas or Dosages

Scurvy grass must be used fresh.
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Nutrient Content

Vitamin C
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Bibliography

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973

Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

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