Crops Gold of pleasure (Camelina sativa)

Further Information



To find similar Items, click on a keyword below:
Crops for Detergents : Crops for Pharmaceuticals/Cosmetics : Crops for Textiles/Fabrics/Cordage

Common Name	GOLD OF PLEASURE
Latin binomial	Camelina sativa
Plant family	|Brassicaceae
Names in other languages	cameline cultivee (F), behaarter leindotter(D), camelina pilosa (E)

This plant, also known as false flax or German sesame, has a history of use across mainland Europe from at least Stone Age times. It is native to Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia, where wild weedy forms survive; other weedy types have evolved and are found in cereal and flax crops. The developed crop form was widely grown across Europe until the 1 950s. The seed yields an oil which is of excellent nutritional quality and was also used as an illuminant and for cosmetic purposes, while the stems were utilised for making brushes, packaging, and thatching temporary buildings. There were additional uses of the green crop as fodder and of the seed for fattening poultry, while the protein-rich press cake was a valued livestock food. Small areas have been grown in recent years for use in the soap and cosmetic industries and as a constituent of birdseed; the crop has recently been the subject of experiments in Europe and Canada to assess its future potential.

This entry forms part of the publication Crops for Industry and Energy in Europe

References:

Brenchley, W E (1920) Weeds of Farm Land. London: Longmans, Green & Co.

Janick, J & Simon, J E (Eds) (1990) Advances in New Crops. Proceedings of the First National Symposium on New Crops: Research, Development, Economics. Portland: Timber Press.

Janick, J & Simon, J E (Eds) (1993) New crops: Exploration, Research and Commercialisation. Proceedings of the Second National Symposium. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Moore, M (1994) Camelina comes in from the cold. The Furrow, Autumn 1994. Mannheim: Deere & Co.

Zohary, D & Hopf M (1988) Domestication of Plants in the Old World. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Relevant EC funded projects:
AIR-2178