Pignut

Conopodium majus

Apiaceae

2nd June 2020

Such a pretty white flower, with tiny white flowers arranged in umbels (a word I love!), with such a funny common name, and part of the carrot family, Apiaceae! ‘Umbels’ describe a flower cluster, from which stalks of similar length sprout from a common centre and form a curved surface, the parsley Petroselinum crispum is one such umbel.

The pignut has dark brown tubers, these ‘nuts’ are usually between six and eight inches under the earth, and they can be eaten by both humans and pigs. If you eat them raw they have the ‘crisp taste of young hazelnuts’ and if cooked have a milder taste than a parsnip, according to Richard Mabey - I haven’t tried them yet!  Although it is actually illegal to dig for these tubers unless the landowner has given permission.

Collins, Delicate upright perennial that is seldom branched and which has hollow, smooth stems. Found in open woodland and grassland, mainly on dry acid soils. FLOWERS White, in umbels 3-6cm across’

I found some individual stems growing peacefully in the grass near the beech tree in the garden today.

Alice x