Scurvy-grass

Scurvy-grass (Cochlearia), a genus of plants of the natural order Cruciferae, having small white flowers and many-seeded pomes. They are annual or biennial, rarely perennial plants; of humble growth, with branched smooth stems, smooth simple leaves, and terminal racemes of flowers. They have an acrid, biting taste, containing the same pungent volatile oil which is found in horseradish, and are valued for their antiscorbutic properties. Common Scurvy-grass (C. officinalis) is sometimes a foot high; the root-leaves are stalked and heart-shaped, the pouches globose, ovate, or elliptical. It is a variable plant, and some of the other species described by botanists are probably not essentially different. They possess the same properties. Scurvy-grass is very common on the shores of Britain, growing both on rocks where there is little soil and in muddy places. It is also found on high mountains. It is a very widely distributed plant, and, being found on the shores of almost all temperate parts of the world, has often been of great benefit to sailors in times when the modern precautions against scurvy at sea were unknown.