Swine-cress

Swine-cress (Coronopus squamatus) is also known as hog-cress and sow-cress, but there is no direct link between this plant and pigs. It may simply be that, in past times, it was used as a salad ingredient but was of such low quality that it was deemed to be fit only for pigs!

Swine-cress is found on waste ground in southern Britain but is less common in the north.

It is a greyish, low-growing plant that reaches up to 12 inches (30 centimetres) in height. It has small, finely divided leaves. The tiny white flowers, which appear from June to September, grow in small clusters in the angle of stem and leaf-stalk.

Yet another name for this plant is wart-cress, and this derives from the appearance of the fruit which has a wart-like surface. Each fruit produces one or two pear-shaped seeds.

This unprepossessing plant has a surprising relative, namely the garden wallflower, although they would seem to have hardly anything in common. The link can, however, be seen in the construction of the flowers, especially the cross-shaped arrangement of the petals.

© John Welford