Smyrnium olusatrum 'Alexanders'

[Ex. Tynemouth, England]

Apiaceae: Stout, sometimes clump-forming, hairless biennial, to 1.25m in height, yellowish flowers, in umbels 4-6cm across, with 7-15 rays, blooming from March-June, the fruits are globular, ridged, black when ripe, the leaves are dark green, shiny and 3 times trifoliate. Favours waste ground, road-side verges and hedgerows, mainly on calcareous soils. Native of the Mediterranean region and S. Europe, north to N.W. France. Widely naturalised, mainly on the south and east coasts of England and Ireland.

USES:

The leaves and young shoots are used raw in salads or cooked in soups, stews etc., the plant comes into growth in the autumn and the leaves are often available throughout the winter, they have a rather strong celery-like flavour and are often blanched (by excluding light from the growing plant) before use, the raw flower buds can be added to salads, the root can also be cooked, boiled and used in soups.

The whole plant is bitter and digestive, it has been used in the past in the treatment of asthma, menstrual problems and wounds, but is generally considered to be obsolete as a medicinal plant.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Succeeds in most soils but prefers an open sunny position in a well-drained moisture retentive soil, best sown in an outdoor seedbed in autumn and planted into its permanent position in late spring, germination can be slow.

HARVESTED: 2023*

 

APPROX. 50 SEEDS