Ligusticum scoticum

'Scots Lovage'

Apiaceae: a rare British native perennial to 80cm. ribbed, purplish and hollow stems, and bright green, shiny and 2 times trifoliate with oval leaflets and inflated, sheathing stalks. White flowers, in flat-topped umbels 4-6cm across, on long stalks. Found growing on coastal habitats. Locally common on Scottish coasts. Native to North-western Europe, including Britain, from Denmark to Norway.

USES:

The leaves, flowers and young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked, superb in salads. The leaves are usually blanched in order to make the flavour milder, though this also reduces the nutritional value. Stem can be used as a flavouring in soups, stews, they have a celery-like flavour. The green stems are peeled and eaten, and the root can also be used, which has a nice sweet flavour. Seed can ground into a powder and used as a flavouring in soups and stews, they have a sharp, hot taste it is used in the same ways as pepper. The young shoots and roots are occasionally candied like angelica.

The root is aromatic and carminative, and has been used in the treatment of hysterical and uterine disorders. The seeds are sweetly aromatic and have been used as a carminative, deodorant and stimulant. They are also sometimes used for flavouring other herbal remedies.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Seeds have a short period of viability and so is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame in the autumn. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible in a greenhouse or cold frame, they need be frosted a good few times to break their dormancy, they can be slow to germinate. Difficult but well worth a go, but they will be no replacements for germination errors.

HARVESTED: 2023*

 

APPROX. 50+ SEEDS