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Bunium bulbocastanum

Common name:	Pig Nut	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Ligusticum bulbocastanum, Apium bulbocastanum
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western and Southern Europe, including Britain, from the Netherlands to Italy.
Habitat:	Rough grassland and banks on chalk[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. bulbocastaneum[H] B. bulbocstanum[E] Carum bulbocastanum[G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Aardkastanje [D], Earth Chestnut [H], Great Pignut [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	casta = spotless;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.25m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Leaves; Root.

Root - raw or cooked[46, 61, 115]. A delicious taste very much like sweet chestnuts when cooked[2, K], but the tubers are very small and fiddly to harvest[183].
Seed and flowers. Used as a flavouring[61, 183], they are a cumin substitute[46].
Leaves - raw or cooked. They are used as a garnish and a flavouring in much the same way as parsley[46, 61, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent.

Astringent[61].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

See the plants native habitat for ideas on its cultivation needs.
The pig nut has at times been cultivated for its edible root[61]. Although quite small in the wild, there is a potential to improve the size of this root through selective breeding and cultivation.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. The seedlings only have one cotyledon[17]. Germination is usually free and quick, prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on for their first season in pots. Plant them out into their final positions when dormant in the autumn.
The seed can also be sown in situ, but this is best done only if you have lots of seed since far fewer plants will result.
Division in spring or autumn.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Bunium bulbocastaneum (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for Bunium bulbocstanum (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Bunium+bulbocastanum
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.