COMMON CORNSALAD

LAMB'S LETTUCE

Valerianella locusta

Valerian Family [Valerianaceae]

month8apr month8april month8may month8jun month8june

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8bicolour
flower
flower8azure flower8blue flower8white
flower
flower8white
inner
inner8white
morph
morph=HemiZygo
petals
petalsZ5
type
typeZumbel
stem
stem8square
stem
stem8ribbed
sex
sexZbisexual
sex
sexZdioecious

sex
sexZbisexual
sex
sexZdioecious

21st June 2007, White Ley, Cridmore Farm, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The lower lower leaves, which are in opposite pairs like the upper leaves, but larger, are visible in this photo. So too are two branches with inflorescences atop.


20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Indistinguishable from Keeled-Fruited Cornsalad apart from the exact shape of the fruit which are, on Keeled Cornsalad, as wide as they are thick and much longer than they are wide, and with a deep V-groove on the abaxial face - in other words: canoe shaped). They differ from those of Common Cornsalad which are about twice as thick as wide, but hardly longer than they are thick and only shallowly grooved on the abaxial face.


20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
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20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
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20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
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20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
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20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
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20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Stems seem to interpenetrate the leaves.


20th April 2012, Angerton Point prom, Foxfield, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD


31st May 2016, nr Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The plant lain bare. It is multiply-branched.


31st May 2016, nr Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The flowers in bunches at the ends are turning to fruits, but are not quite there yet. The first flowers to start turning to fruit are those single flowers in the axils of the branches. Stems square and ribbed.


31st May 2016, nr Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Here right in the axil is a single developing fruit, flanked beneath by two opposite leaves, still not ripe. Some flowers persist in each bunch, but most are turning to fruits.


31st May 2016, nr Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The fruit in the centre like a head with two arms held upwards. Common Cornsalad has fruits shaped just like this, sort of nearly round(ish) with two or three shallow circumferential ridges/grooves. Clive Clive Stace says in his book that the fruit of Common Cornsalad is glabrous (without hairs) but this plainly has a short stubble of hairs. But it isn't ripe yet, so maybe they all fall off(?). The seeds are round(ish) but with very shallow grooves and are between 1.8 to 2.5mm long and 1.8 to 2.5mm thick, although it is not clear if these are independent variables. The stems are square - some are heavily ribbed and look more like H-cross section steel girders, presumably for stiffening.


31st May 2016, nr Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Another fruit from the same plant. This time against the sun to get an x-ray view within (move down the bus, nothing to see here).


21st June 2007, White Ley, Cridmore Farm, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
A globular cluster of mostly spent flowers going to fruit. Your Author does not know if these are the fertile fruits or the sterile fruits or a mixture of both types, but unlike the ones shown below, are flattish on one side rather than almost spherical. It might be that these are not yet fully developed(?).




Valerianella locusta var. dunensis

Sometimes suffixed as ssp. dunensis

Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
No, these have NOT been buried by wind-blown drifting sands, but are instead a dwarf variety (or subspecies) which grows very low on sand dunes.


Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
They look as if this is just the top of the plant, but apart from the roots in the sand, there are no further parts.


Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


Not to be confused with : Lettuce or Lamb's-Ear [plants with similar names]

Easily mis-identified as : other Cornsalads such as Keeled-Fruited Cornsalad but that has a V-shaped notch in the somewhat longer fruit which makes it look more like a canoe than the somewhat mis-shapen ball of Common Cornsalad.

No relation to : Corn Buttercup, Corn Marigold, Corn Chamomile, Corncockle, Corn Mint or Salad Burnet [plants with similar names].

This is much the more frequent of the five different species of Cornsalad. It is edible and was/(is still?) used as a salad which is why it was once called Lamb's Lettuce. It occupies bare and grassy ground, walls, rock faces and sand dunes. It seems to flower in April to June, with April being before other very similar Cornsalads.


  Valerianella locusta  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Valerianaceae  

Distribution
 family8Valerian family8Valerianaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Valerianella
Valerianella
(Cornsalads)

COMMON CORNSALAD

LAMB'S LETTUCE

Valerianella locusta

Valerian Family [Valerianaceae]