''Descurainia sophia'' is a member of the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...

. Common names include flixweed, herb-Sophia and tansy mustard. It reproduces by seeds. It is a dominant weed in dark brown prairie and black prairie soils of southern Alberta. Its

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

is erect, branched, and high. It was once given to patients with

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

and called by ancient herbalists ''Sophia Chirurgorum'', "The Wisdom of Surgeons". It is the type species of the genus ''Descurainia'' (named for French botanist and herbalist François Descurain (1658–1749)) and of the rejected genus ''Sophia'' Adans.

Description

''Descurainia sophia'' is an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...

. It will sprout and grow in the fall and spends winter as a rosette. Growth resumes in the spring and plants flower by late spring.

Culinary use

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, the seeds are called ''khak-e shir'' (''khakshir''), and khak-e shir drinks are traditionally favored as thirst quencher during hot summer days. Khakshir is also considered a medicinal substance in traditional Iranian medicine, consumed in varying combinations with other herbs and substances to gain effects ranging from antidiuretic to aphrodisiac. China has a tradition of eating this plant, and its eating method is recorded in the '' Jiuhuang Bencao'' (Book of Famine Relief Herbals).

Cultural

In German, it is called the ''Sophienkraut'' and associated with Saint Sophia of Rome, who was invoked against late frosts.

References

sophia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Malta {{Brassicales-stub