Lepidium sativum

Botanical Description

Lepidium sativum is a profusely-branched, erect, annual plant growing up to 80cm tall[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The plant has been cultivated for food since before the ancient Egyptians and is still widely used. It is most commonly eaten in the seedling form, where it is the cress of mustard and cress - a fast-growing crop that can be ready to eat within 7 days of sowing the seed. The plant also has traditional medicinal uses and is the source of an edible oil that can also be used for lighting. It is grown in Ethiopia for the edible oil obtained from its seed[ 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. ]. Lepidium sativum often escapes from cultivation and becomes a weed.