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Caprifoliaceae FAMILY

Valerianella eriocarpa

Valerianella eriocarpa

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
Growth—

An easily grown plant, it prefers a fairly rich light soil[1]. Prefers a sunny position but tolerates some shade in summer[PFAF]. This shade, plus an adequate supply of water, will slow down the plant's tendency to run to seed[2]. Late sowings will benefit from a sheltered sunny position and perhaps some protection in the winter. Occasionally cultivated for its edible leaves, there are some named varieties[3]. It is less hardy than common corn salad (Valerianella locusta), but does not run to seed so quickly in hot weather[3].

Propagation

Seed - in order to obtain a continuous supply of salad leaves, it is best to sow the seed successionally from early spring to mid summer in situ. A late summer sowing can also succeed, and this would supply edible leaves in the winter. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Valerianella+eriocarpa>

Pollinators

Self

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎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.
  4. [4]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  5. [5]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  6. [6]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  7. [7]Salads all the Year Round. — Larkcom. J. · Hamlyn · 1980 ↩︎A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
  8. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎