Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Ligusticum scoticum

Common name:	Scottish Lovage	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Northwestern Europe, including Britain, from Denmark to Norway.
Habitat:	Rocky coasts in northern Britain[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Scotch Lovage [L,H], Scotch Parsley [H], Scottish Licoriceroot [P], Sea Lovage [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	ligusticum = Ligurian, (NW Italy); scoticum = of Scotland;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 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. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Leaves; Root; Seed; Stem.

Leaves, flowers and young shoots - raw or cooked[2, 4, 5, 100]. Strong and not very pleasant[115]. Superb in salads[172]. The leaves are usually blanched in order to make the flavour milder[61, 183], though this also reduces the nutritional value[K]. A celery-like flavour, it is used as a seasoning in salads, soups etc[183]. Another report says that the flavour is more like parsley[245].
Stem - used as a flavouring in soups, stews etc[5, 17]. A celery-like flavour[238]. The green stem is peeled and eaten[183].
Root - raw or cooked[2, 5, 161]. A sweet flavour[161].
Seed - ground into a powder and used as a flavouring in soups and stews[172, 238, 245]. A sharp, hot taste it is used in the same ways as pepper[245].
The young shoots and roots are occasionally candied like angelica[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Aromatic; Carminative; Deodorant; Stimulant.

The root is aromatic and carminative[4]. It is used in the treatment of hysterical and uterine disorders[4, 238].
The seeds are sweetly aromatic and have been used as a carminative, deodorant and stimulant[4, 172, 238]. They are also sometimes used for flavouring other herbal remedies[4].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position[1, 200]. Dislikes shade. Succeeds in dry soils[238].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[238].
Scottish lovage has occasionally been cultivated as a pot herb, though it has been largely supplanted by celery[1, 4, 17].
All parts of the plant are aromatic when bruised, the aroma being likened to a mixture of parsley, angelica and pear skin[245].

Propagation

Seed - the seed only has 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[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer if they have grown large enough. Otherwise, keep them in a cold frame for the first winter and plant them out in early summer.
Division of the rootstock in early spring. Make sure that each section of root has at least one growth bud. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Scent

Plant: Crushed: All parts of the plant are aromatic when bruised, the aroma being likened to a mixture of parsley, angelica and pear skin.

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[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

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.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[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.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[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.

[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.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[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.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[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.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

Main Search Page

Bibliography

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?Ligusticum+scoticum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Ligusticum+scoticum

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Log In :: Privacy Policy :: Home :: Philosophy

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.