Conopodium majus 'Pignut'

[Ex. Teesdale, 210m., England] 

Apiaceae: a delicate, upright perennial herb to 40cm. found in open woodland and grassland, mainly on dry, acidic soils. Flowers are white, in umbels 3-6cm across, blooming from April-June. The leaves are finely divided, tubers can be 6” or more deep. Locally common across the entire country. Native to most of Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Spain, east to Italy and Corsica.

USES:

The tubers are used raw or cooked, they have a very pleasant food with a flavour somewhat between a sweet potato and hazelnuts, with a hot aftertaste of radish. There is only one tuber on each plant, this is rather small and difficult to harvest, but the size could probably be increased by cultivation.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Best sown late summer-autumn for germination in the spring. They need a long cold period to trigger germination. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out when in early summer. Never found on alkaline soils in the wild.

HARVESTED: 2022*

APPROX. 100 SEEDS