Herb: Pig Nut


Latin name: Bunium bulbocastanum


Synonyms: Apium bulbocastanum, Ligusticum bulbocastanum


Family: Umbelliferae



Medicinal use of Pig Nut:

Astringent.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
60 cm
(2 feet)

Flowering:
June
to July

Habitat of the herb:

Rough grassland and banks on chalk.

Edible parts of Pig Nut:

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

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. The seedlings only have one cotyledon. 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.

Cultivation of Pig Nut:

Rough grassland and banks on chalk.

Known hazards of Bunium bulbocastanum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.