Valerianella locusta Corn Salad, Lewiston cornsalad PFAF Plant Database

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Summary

Physical Characteristics

Valerianella locusta is a ANNUAL growing to 0.3 m (1ft).
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen from May to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

V. olitoria.

Plant Habitats

Hedgerow; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers Leaves
Edible Uses:

Young leaves - raw[1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 27, 33, 37]. A very mild flavour, with a delicate quality that makes them seem to melt in the mouth, they can be added in quantity to salads[183]. The leaves can be available all year round from successional sowings and will only require protection in the colder winters[K]. Flowers and flowering stems - raw[183].

References More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

References More on Medicinal Uses

Other Uses

None known

Special Uses

References More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it prefers a fairly rich light soil[1, 37] though it tolerates most soils and wet or dry conditions[52]. Prefers a sunny position but tolerates some shade in summer[K]. This shade, plus an adequate supply of water, will slow down the plant's tendency to run to seed[200]. Late sowings will benefit from a sheltered sunny position and perhaps some protection in the winter. Often cultivated on a garden scale for its edible young leaves which, by successional sowing, can be available for most of the year although they will require protection in severe winters. There are several named varieties[183]. The plants do tend to run quickly to seed in the summer though. If allowed to flower, plants will often maintain themselves by self-sowing[K].

References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

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Plant 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.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

TEMPERATE ASIA: Syria, Turkey, Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia (Ciscaucasia), Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation (Dagestan) EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation-European part (European part (south)), Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym), Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Romania, Spain, France (incl. Corsica), Portugal AFRICA: Spain (Canarias), Portugal (Madeira Islands), Algeria, Morocco

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it's worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

IUCN Red List

Related Plants

Latin Name	Common Name	Habit	Height	Hardiness	Soil	Shade	Moisture	Edible	Other
Valerianella carinata	Keeled-Fruited Cornsalad, European cornsalad	Annual	0.3	0-0	LMH	N	DM	2
Valerianella chenopodifolia		Annual	0.6	-	LMH	N	M	2
Valerianella eriocarpa	Italian Corn Salad	Annual	0.4	-	LMH	N	DM	3
Valerianella radiata	Beaked Cornsalad	Annual	0.6	0-0	LMH	N	DM	2	0

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

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Expert comment

Author

(L.)Laterr.

Botanical References

17200

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here

Readers comment


margarida Salgado	Wed Feb 13 2008

Can I plant valerianella locusta in an hydroponic sistem? can you inform me where can I buy seeds? I am in Portugal and I would like to try it.


Ana Rijo	Sat Sep 20 2008

Eu planto valerianella que em português se chama alface de cordeiro, mas na terra claro. Compro as sementes na Alemanha que eu saiba não há à venda cá, o que é estranho dado que é originária da bacia do Mediterrâneo. Dá-se muito bem mas apenas no Inverno porque assim que está calor começa a espigar. Neste clima, ou pelo menos aqui no sul dá-se melhor na meia-sombra.


David Nelson	Tue Sep 8 2009

My wife eats this as a salad green almost exclusively here in The Netherlands, but will sometimes mix with other greens. Shape of the leaves holds salad dressing, so less is needed and little is wasted. Here, the plant is called "Veldsla" and is packaged as whole young plants, multi-leaved and with bare roots attached. The two packages I have seen are 100 and 200 grams in weight. Wish this was available in the USA -- they need to get with it so we can find this when we get back. Here, it is priced more or less equally with what would be called mixed field greens in the US. So any fancy restaurant serving this in USA is capitalizing on the 'new' factor, and not the rarity of the plant. Whole greenhouses are dedicated to this stuff over here, so it certainly is nothing new to Europe. "

Valerianella locusta - (L.)Laterr.