Conopodium majus subsp. marizianum

Conopodium majus is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the celery family, Apiaceae. Its underground part resembles a chestnut and is sometimes eaten as a wild or cultivated root vegetable. The plant has many English names (many of them shared with Bunium bulbocastanum, a related plant with similar appearance and uses) variously including kippernut, cipernut, arnut, jarnut, hawknut, earth chestnut, groundnut, and earthnut. From its popularity with pigs come the names pignut, hognut, and more indirectly Saint Anthony's nut, for Anthony the Great or Anthony of Padua, both patron saints of swineherds. (Other plants sharing these names include groundnut, earthnut, and hognut.)

Description

A herb with a tuber. It grows 25 cm tall. The leaves have spiky lobed leaflets in opposite pairs along the stalk and one at the end. The flowers are in a group on long stalks at the top of the plant and are white.

Edible Uses

This species responds to cultivation by producing larger tubers. With careful selective breeding, it is probably possible to produce a much more productive plant. Palatable and nutritious, its eating qualities are widely praised, and it is popular among wild food foragers, but it remains a minor crop, due in part to its low yields and difficulty of harvest.

Traditional Uses

The tubers are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a Mediterranean plant.

Where It Grows

Europe, Portugal, Spain,

Synonyms

Also Known As

Afrijones, Cacarrollas, Cacamochas, Castana de tierra, Feijocas

References (1)

• Gonzalez, J. A., et al, 2011, The consumption of wild and semi-domesticated edible plants in the Arribes del Duero (Salamanca-Zamora, Spain): an analysis of traditional knowledge. Genetic. Resour Crop Evolution 58:991-1006

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