Alliaria petiolata - Alliaire officinale

Famille: Cruciferae, Genre: Alliaria
Alliaire, Alliaire pétiolée, Herbe aux Aulx, Herbe à l'ail, Julienne Alliaire, Velar alliaire
Bisannuelle (1m de haut par 0.4m de large).

Habitat

Exposition
Ombre ou mi-ombre
Humidité
Humidité moyenne ou sol mouillé.
Sol
Tous sols.
pH
Sol acide ou calcaire
Habitat originel
Damp hedgerows, edges of woods and other shady places, preferring basic soils[7, 13, 17, 244].
Origine géographique
Most of Europe, including Britain, south to N. Africa and east to W. Asia and the Himalayas.

Comestibilité

  • Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb or as a flavouring in cooked foods [4, 5, 9, 12, 62, 115, 244].
  • A mild garlic and mustard flavour, the leaves are also believed to strengthen the digestive system [244].
  • They can be finely chopped and added to salads [7, 183].
  • The leaves are available very early in the year and provide a very acceptable flavouring for salads in the winter [K].
  • Flowers and young seed pods - raw [62].
  • A mild, garlic-like flavour [K].

Usages médicinaux

  • Garlic mustard has been little used in herbal medicine [268].
  • The leaves and stems are antiasthmatic, antiscorbutic, antiseptic, deobstruent, diaphoretic, vermifuge and vulnerary [4, 7].
  • The leaves have been taken internally to promote sweating and to treat bronchitis, asthma and eczema [4].
  • Externally, they have been used as an antiseptic poultice on ulcers etc[4], and are effective in relieving the itching caused by bites and stings [244].
  • The leaves and stems are harvested before the plant comes into flower and they can be dried for later use [238].
  • The roots are chopped up small and then heated in oil to make an ointment to rub on the chest in order to bring relief from bronchitis [245].
  • The juice of the plant has an inhibitory effect on Bacillus pyocyaneum and on gram-negative bacteria of the typhoid-paratyphoid-enteritis group [240].
  • The seeds have been used as a snuff to excite sneezing [4].

Autres usages

  • A yellow dye is obtained from the whole plant [7].

Culture

  • Prefers a damp rich alluvial soil [7, 53].
  • Succeeds in damp shady places where few other herbs will grow [238].
  • A good woodland edge plant, it also grows well in the bottom of hedgerows[24] and will self-sow freely in suitable conditions [238].
  • On a calm day the plant emits a strong smell of garlic .
  • This is especially pronounced if the leaves are bruised [245].
  • This species is an important food source for the orange-tip butterfly [238].

Propagation

  • Seed - sow outdoors in situ either in spring or autumn .

Calendrier

En fleur
4 - 6
Maturité des graines
6 - 8

Pollinisation

Type de fleur
Hermaphrodite (les fleurs ont des organes mâles et femelles)
Auto-fertile
Non
Pollinisateurs
Bees, flies, lepidoptera, self

Divers

Pollution
Non
Autres réferences
[17]

Réferences

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. 1984.
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. 1974.
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. 1984.
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. 1981.
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder.
A handy pocket guide.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. 1962.
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[53] De. Bray. L. The Wild Garden.
Interesting reading.
[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. 1982.
Very readable.
[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. 1990.
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. 1995.
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). 1986.
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs 1990.
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. 1994.
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism 1979.
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

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