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Osmorhiza obtusa

Common name:		Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	(Coult.& Rose.)Fernald.	Botanical references:	43, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America - Newfoundland and Labrador to New Brunswick and Quebec, south to California and Arizona.
Habitat:	Shady or partly shady areas, often on slopes and in valleys, from Alaska to California[43, 85].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	O. chilensis var. cupressimontana[B,P] O. depauperata[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,,P] Washingtonia obtusa[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Blunt-fruit Sweet-cicely [B], Bluntseed Sweetroot [P], Mogollon Sweet Cicely [S], Mountain Sweet Cicely [S], Sweet Cicely, Mountain [S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	obtusa = blunt
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. . 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 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment Root Seed.

Root - raw or cooked. At its mildest early in the season, it has a parsnip-like flavour[85]. It is also used as a flavouring, imparting an anise-like flavour[85].
Seed - raw or used as a flavouring[85].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any deep moisture-retentive soil in sun or dappled shade[200].
Well suited to naturalistic plantings in a woodland or wild garden[200]. A sweetly aromatic plant[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible, otherwise sow it in early spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: A sweetly aromatic plant.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Osmorhiza depauperata (a possible synonym).

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants 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

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[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.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[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

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

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