Valerianella radiata
Beaked Cornsalad
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Valerianaceae
- Genus
- Valerianella
- Life cycle
- annual
- Height
- 0.6 m
- Fertility
- self fertile
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Self
Uses
Edible uses
Young leaves - raw. Root[2]. No more details are given but the root is unlikely to be of any size[K].
- Plant part
- Leaves
- Plant part
- Root
Environment
- Range
- Eastern N. America - southwards from New Jersey and Kansas.
- Habitat
- Damp to dry woods, meadows, fields and roadsides[4].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - in order to obtain a continuous supply of salad leaves, it is best to sow the seed successionally from early spring to late summer in situ. A late summer sowing might also succeed, and this would supply edible leaves in the winter.
Cultivation
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. Its native range suggests that it will be able to be grown as a hardy annual, in fact it might be possible to make a late summer sowing and grow it as an over-wintering annual, but it should certainly succeed from a late spring sowing in situ. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a fairly rich light soil[1].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978-00-00
Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00