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PLANT PROFILE LIST
NAME: Pennycress
SPECIES / FAMILY: Thlaspi Arvense / Brassicaceae
OTHER COMMON NAME(S): Filed pennycress
CONDITIONS: full
sun
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EDIBLE |
TASTE |
RAW/COOK |
SEASON |
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All |
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Shoots |
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Leaves |
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mustard/onion |
RAW/COOK |
Winter-Spring |
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Buds/Flowers |
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Fruits |
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Roots |
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Seeds |
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DRY/SPROUT | Summer |
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Nuts |
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Pods |
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Stalk/Stem |
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Bark |
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PORTION: small
COMMENT: Pennycress tastes great as a young winter green, so it is a surprise that there are few if any comments or recipes on eating young Pennycress. Young Pennycress combines a good mustard taste with a strong hint of sweetness. It is available for harvest in early/mid-winter, months before it blooms in the Spring. It is also different from other cresses in that the leaf shape in its early stages is like a boat oar, not undulated like most cresses. // The leaves are rich in protein and delicious. As with any hot and spicy food, eat in moderation. Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. They should always be harvested before the plant comes into flower or they can be very bitter. Add in small quantities to salads and soups, or used as a potherb. They taste somewhat like mustard but with a hint of onion. The seed is ground into a powder and used as a mustard substitute. The seed can also be sprouted and added to salads.(1)
NUTRITION/MEDICINAL: Leaf is very rich in protein (1) https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Thlaspi+arvense Antibacterial; Antidote; Anti-inflammatory; Antirheumatic; Blood tonic; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Expectorant; Febrifuge; Hepatic; Ophthalmic; Tonic. (1)
LOOK-A-LIKES: Looks like some other cresses, particularly Shepard’s Purse, but seed pod of Pennycress is oval, whereas Shepard's Purse is smaller and Triangular and blooms later - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_bursa-pastoris
POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES:
OTHER USES: Oil. The seed contains 20 - 30% of a semi-drying oil, it is used for lighting (1). Also used for cover crop, reduces nutrient loss, weed suppression, and biofuels - see: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2020/09/powerful-pennycress & https://commonsensehome.com/field-pennycress (biofuel use)
SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):