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Common Name: Western Sweet-Cicely

General Information

Osmorhiza occidentalis 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, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Western N. America.

Habitat

Shady or partly shady areas, often on slopes and in valleys[, ].

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

The root has a sweet liquorice or anise flavour and can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a flavouring for biscuits etc[, , ]. The taste is probably too strong for the whole root to be used as a vegetable[].
The dried seeds are used as a flavouring[, , ]. The unripe seed, when still fleshy, can be nibbled raw[, ].

Medicinal

Western sweet-cicely was widely employed medicinally by several native North American Indian tribes who used it particularly to treat digestive disorders and as an antiseptic wash for a range of problems[]. It is little, if at all, used in modern herbalism.
An infusion of the plant is used in the treatment of coughs and colds[, ].
The roots are antiseptic, carminative, febrifuge, oxytocic, pectoral and stomachic[]. An infusion has been used to induce labour in a pregnant woman and to treat fevers, indigestion, flatulence, stomach aches etc[]. An infusion of the roots has been applied externally as a treatment for swollen breasts, sores, sore eyes etc[]. A decoction of the root has been used as a wash on venereal sores and skin rashes[]. A poultice of the pulped roots has been used in the treatment of cuts, sores, swellings and bruises[].
The root has been applied to teeth to relive the pain of toothache[].
A hot decoction of the root has been used to kill head lice[].

Other Uses

The roots have been used by women as a feminine deodorant[]. They have also been placed in the clothes cupboard to impart a nice smell to clothes and have been used to rinse babies nappies[].
A decoction of the root has been used as a dip to kill lice in chickens[].

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.