French Scorzonera, Common brighteyes
Reichardia picroides

Family: Asteraceae or Compositae

What it is like

Reichardia picroides is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 0.3 m (1ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from April to August, and the seeds ripen from June to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.5

Where it is found

Cultivated soil and waste places.

S. Europe.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 5

Leaves - raw or cooked. Mild and good. A pleasant agreeable flavour with a slight sweetness and very little fibre, it makes a very acceptable lettuce substitute and we use it in large quantities in salads. The older leaves seem to be even nicer, even when the plant is in flower. Root - raw or cooked.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating:

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Easily grown in any moderately fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position. Grows best in a shady position in summer, where it will produce better quality leaves. It prefers plenty of moisture in the growing season, though it is fairly drought tolerant once established. Plants are very tolerant of poor soils. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c. It is likely to be hardier when grown in a soil on the poor soil, though the leaves will not be so tender nor so freely produced. Plants are also likely to be hardier in well-drained soils and dislike very wet weather. Plants are often short-lived, though they are self-sowing quite freely in Cornwall. A very easily grown plant, it has also proved to be almost totally slug-proof, even in a very heavily slug-infested garden. Formerly cultivated as a cut and come again salad crop in S. Europe, producing a harvestable yield within 10 weeks of sowing the seed. This plant is possibly useful as a winter salad crop, growing in a sunny fairly sheltered position in Cornwall it has been yielding very well and continuously for a period of 18 months since the summer of 1993. It requires more investigation.

Propagating it: Seed - sow March/April in a warm position outdoors and then in succession if required until the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination is usually very good and quick. We usually make a sowing in the spring in the greenhouse, pricking out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and then planting them out in late spring or early summer. Established plants can self-sow quite freely in disturbed ground.

Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds; North Wall. By. East Wall. By.

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 7-10

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

R. macrophylla. Picridium vulgare.