Lomatium nudicaule - (Pursh.)Coult.&Rose.
(Pursh.)Coult.&Rose.
Pestle Parsnip, Barestem biscuitroot
gbif· cc-by-nc
Rhia Ironside
gbif· cc-by-nc
Rhia Ironside
gbif· cc-by-nc
Rhia Ironside
Description
Lomatium nudicaule is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.6 m (2ft in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Edible Uses
Tea. Root - raw or cooked. The taste is rather like a hot spicy parsnip. The root can be roasted and used as a vegetable, or can be dried and ground into a powder then used as a flavouring in soups etc. Leaves and young shoots - eaten as a vegetable or used as a celery-like flavouring in soups etc. The leaves, stems and flowers are infused and used as a beverage. Seed - raw or cooked. The immature seed is chewed as a refreshing snack and can be used as a flavouring in soups etc. The vitamin C content of young plants is remarkably high, one cup providing more than the recommended daily allowance. (the part of the plant is not referred to, it is probably the leaves)
Medicinal Uses
Analgesic Diaphoretic Febrifuge Laxative Pectoral Poultice Vitamin CThe seeds are analgesic, diaphoretic, febrifuge, laxative and pectoral. They have been chewed in the treatment of fevers, colds and sore throats. An infusion has been used by pregnant women to ensure an easy delivery. A poultice of the crushed seeds has been applied to the head to relieve the pain of headaches. The poultice has also been applied to sore places, pains and itches.
Distribution
Western N. America - South British Columbia to California.
Where It Grows
NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada, British Columbia, United States, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Utah,
Cultivation
Requires a sunny position in a fertile well-drained soil. Plants are frost hardy. This is a taxonomically very difficult genus, many of the species now included in it have at times been included in other genera.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed can be rather slow to germinate, when sown in the spring it usually takes at least 12 months to germinate. Giving it a period of cold stratification might reduce this time. The seedlings need to be pricked out into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and should be planted out into their permanent positions in the summer. Fresh seed can be sown immediately in situ. Division may be possible in spring or autumn.
Other Uses
Incense Repellent. The seed is spicy and aromatic, it is used as a house fumigant and deodorant. It also repels mosquitoes.
