''Cochlearia danica'', or Danish scurvygrass,
is a
flowering plant of the genus ''
Cochlearia'' in the family
Brassicaceae.
A salt-tolerant (normally) coastal plant which is now flourishing along roads and motorways in Europe, especially under the crash barriers in the central reservation. Its success has been attributed to its ability to survive the effects of salts distributed by
gritters
A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truck chassis, with adaptations allowing them to carr ...
in winter and its small seeds being spread by the high speed of cars in the fast lane.
Full of
vitamin C, it gets its name from sailors chewing it to avoid
scurvy. The mauve flowers are 4-5mm in diameter.
Danish Scurvy Grass
Plant Identification.co.uk, accessed February 2011
Image gallery
File:Cochlearia danica.JPG, Cochlearia danica illustrated by E. Hallier 1883 .
File:Scurvy-grass - geograph.org.uk - 730339.jpg , Scurvy-grass growing in the central reservation of the A1120 in the UK.
File:Cochlearia danica 01.jpg, Cochlearia danica, flower
File:Cochlearia danica01.jpg, Cochlearia danica growing in its natural habitat, the shingle zone of a marine beach
References
danica
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Brassicales-stub