Cochlearia

Cochlearia 

a genus of plants of the family Cruciferae. They are perennial, biennial, or annual herbs with simple leaves. The lower leaves are arranged in a rosette. The flowers, which are white or lilac, are in racemes. The fruit is a globose or ellipsoid silicle; the seeds are small.

There are approximately 25 species, distributed in the arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Six species are found in the USSR—in the arctic, Baltic Region, and Carpathians. The species Cochlearia arctica is a succulent plant with white flowers and long-petioled, ovoid or cordate radical leaves that resemble spoons; it is found along the seashore and on clayey and sandy soils. The leaves, which contain an essential oil and vitamin C, are used for food and as an antiscorbutic agent. C. a rctica is sometimes cultivated like scurvy grass (C. officinalis), which grows in Western Europe on the northern coasts and in the mountains.