On my walk ... treacle mustard

 


Being a new arrival in Sidmouth I am discovering that my new surroundings are very different from where I have lived previously. The geology here, the different habitat types that it creates and so the species one sees means that there is always potential to find something I have not seen before. 

This is treacle mustard [Erysimum cheiranthoides], it is a member of the cabbage, or cruciferae, family; it has four petals which is a characteristic of this group of plants. It is a low growing annual plant with cylindrical seed pods and it is the seed pods that help distinguish it from related plants. It favours bare ground, according to my field guide often occurring in sandy locations, and flowers from June through until September.

The name 'treacle' mustard came from the Greek, theriaki, meaning antidote to poisonous bites as the plant was thought to have healing properties (Wikipedia). Research has shown the plant, like many of the cabbage family, contain chemicals which give it a degree of protection from invading insect larvae. It is also thought that the green-veined white butterfly, who is keen on the nectar from 'mustard' flowers, may get a degree of protection from parasitic wasps. Maybe the Greeks were not far off with their belief?

My encounter with this plant was along the shoreline by the footpath that runs from the end of the promenade towards Jacob's Ladder. There is quite a large patch here and it is growing primarily, it seems, on shingle; hardly a sandy location I would have thought. At some point I need to stop and take a closer look at exactly where the roots are; I am that sort of person!

Growing on shingle, in the splash zone from incoming waves at times and in a year where we have experienced drought conditions this little colony of plants has managed not just to survive but seemingly thrive. Isn't nature wonderful?



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