Cochlearia  Cochlearia (scurvy-grass or spoonwort) is a genus of about 30 species of annual and perennial herbs in the family Brassicaceae. They are widely distributed in temperate and arctic areas of the northern hemisphere, most commonly found in coastal regions, on cliff-tops and salt marshes where their high tolerance of salt enables them to avoid competition from larger, but less salt-tolerant plants; they also occur in alpine habitats in mountains and tundra. They form low, rounded or creeping plants, typically 5–20 cm tall. The leaves are smoothly rounded, roughly spoon-shaped (the scientific name "Cochlearia" derives from the Latinized form, "cocleare", of the Greek κοχλιάριον, "kokhliárion", a spoon; this a diminutive of κόχλος, "kókhlos", seashell), or in some species, lobed; typically 1–5 cm long, and with a fleshy texture. The flowers are white with four petals and are borne in short racemes. About 30 species are usually accepted; several others usually treated as subspecies of "C. officinalis" are accepted as distinct species by some botanists. Two species formerly included in the genus "Cochlearia" are now usually treated in separate genera:  Cook's scurvy grass, "Lepidium oleraceum", was used by James Cook to prevent scurvy, but is now almost extinct. In the first century A.D. Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) writes in his "Naturalis Historia (Natural History)," about a disease suffered by Roman soldiers in Germany. Their symptoms resemble those of scurvy, and Pliny recommends a "Herba britannica", which has been suggested to be scurvy-grass. Scurvy-grass was frequently eaten in the past by sailors suffering from scurvy after returning from long voyages. The leaves are rich in vitamin C, which cures this deficiency disease resulting from a lack of fresh vegetables in the diet. The Rev. George Moore recorded the purchase of "a pint of scurvey-grasse" for 1 "s" in 1662. He apparently "suffered much" from scurvy, purchasing scurvey-grasse in both bundled and bottled form.