Peltaria alliacea 'Garlic Cress'

Brassicaceae: a perennial to 60cm. Found on stony hills and woods. White four petaled flowers. Blooming from May to July. The orbicular, very flat seed is pendent and has a size of about 6mm. The plant is glabrous (hairless) with simple, entire leaves. The leaves are ovate, sessile and amplexicaule (having lobes that surround the stem). When crushed they smell of garlic. Native in Southern Austria (Styria, Lower Austria) to South Romania and Albania. It has become naturalized in the Britain.

USES:

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. A strong flavour, somewhat like a cross between garlic and mustard, the leaves make a reasonable flavouring for salads. The leaves can be used and add a spiciness to salads. Although, they can become bitter in the summer.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Surface seeds in sow early spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Prefers a light fertile moist soil in sun or light shade, though it is not too fussy. A easily grown plant that tolerates considerable neglect, it produces its best crop of leaves from autumn to spring and is a potentially valuable winter salad plant.

HARVESTED: 2022*

 

APPROX. 20 SEEDS