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Common Name: Woolly Sweet-Cicely

General Information

Osmorhiza claytonii is a perennial plant that can grow up to 1.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to South Dakota, North Carolina, Illinois, Nebraska and Kansas.

Habitat

Woods and wooded slopes[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in any deep moisture-retentive soil in sun or dappled shade[].
Plants are hardy to about -20°c[].
Well suited to naturalistic plantings in a woodland or wild garden[]. A sweetly aromatic plant[].

Edible Uses

Root - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[, , ]. Used for putting on weight[, ].
Leaf stalks - cooked and used as a vegetable[].
The aromatic roots and unripe seeds are used as anise-like flavourings[]. Pleasant to chew[].

Medicinal

The root has been chewed or gargled as a treatment for sore throats[, ]. A poultice of the moistened pulverized roots has been applied to boils, cuts, sores etc whilst a tea made from the roots has been used to bathe sore eyes[, ].

Other Uses

None known

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.