Common Cornsalad is a
native
annual plant of the UK, typically found growing in rocky, stoney and coastal areas, to a mature height of up to 30cm.
Common Cornsalad grows from rosettes of oval to spoon-shaped leaves and has branching stems that bear clusters of small white, blue-tinted or pink-tinted flowers. Common Cornsalad has a centuries-long history as a forage plant in the UK and has been cultivated and commercially available from the nineteenth century. In recent years it has become popular in supermarket salad leaf mixtures under the name of 'Lamb's Lettuce'.
Botanic classification and naming: Common Cornsalad is a member of the Valerian (Valerianaceae) family. The genus name
'Valerianella' identifies the plant as a Cornsalad and its species name 'locusta' means 'clustered spike'.
Concerns: Note that unsupervised foraging may cause damage to wild plants and misidentification of forage species may be dangerous. The complete removal of a plant from the wild is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
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