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Common Name: Pestle Parsnip

General Information

Lomatium nudicaule is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.60 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Western N. America - South British Columbia to California.

Habitat

Dry open or lightly wooded areas at low to moderate elevations[]

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.60 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a sunny position in a fertile well-drained soil[].
Plants are frost hardy[].
This is a taxonomically very difficult genus, many of the species now included in it have at times been included in other genera[].

Edible Uses

Root - raw or cooked[]. The taste is rather like a hot spicy parsnip[]. The root can be roasted and used as a vegetable, or can be dried and ground into a powder then used as a flavouring in soups etc[, ].
Leaves and young shoots - eaten as a vegetable or used as a celery-like flavouring in soups etc[, , ].
The leaves, stems and flowers are infused and used as a beverage[, , ].
Seed - raw or cooked[]. The immature seed is chewed as a refreshing snack and can be used as a flavouring in soups etc[].
The vitamin C content of young plants is remarkably high, one cup providing more than the recommended daily allowance[]. (the part of the plant is not referred to, it is probably the leaves)

Medicinal

The seeds are analgesic, diaphoretic, febrifuge, laxative and pectoral[]. They have been chewed in the treatment of fevers, colds and sore throats[]. An infusion has been used by pregnant women to ensure an easy delivery[]. A poultice of the crushed seeds has been applied to the head to relieve the pain of headaches[]. The poultice has also been applied to sore places, pains and itches[].

Other Uses

The seed is spicy and aromatic, it is used as a house fumigant and deodorant. It also repels mosquitoes[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[]. Stored seed can be rather slow to germinate, when sown in the spring it usually takes at least 12 months to germinate. Giving it a period of cold stratification might reduce this time. The seedlings need to be pricked out into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and should be planted out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Fresh seed can be sown immediately in situ[].
Division may be possible in spring or autumn.