Smyrnium olusatrum

Plant Characteristics

Habit		herbaceous
Height:	⇕	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 5 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5.
Width:	⇔	18 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 18. to 36 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 36.
Lifespan:	⌛	biennial
Bloom:	❀	early spring, mid spring, late spring

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	flowers, edible
USDA Zones:		6 to 10
Flower features:	❀	orange, yellow

Scientific Names

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olusatrum >

Alexanders is a commonly cultivated flowering plant, Smyrnium olusatrum, belonging to the family Umbelliferae. It is also known as Alisanders, Horse Parsley and Smyrnium.

Alexanders is native to Europe, western Asia and North Africa. The flowers of this plant are yellow-green in colour and its fruits are black. It has some similarity to celery in the way it looks and in how it tastes. It was once used in many dishes, but it has now been replaced by celery. It was also used as a medicinal herb. In the correct conditions Alexanders will grow up to four or five feet.

Read about Smyrnium olusatrum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Alexanders. Name applied to Smyrnium Olusatrum (Umbelliferae), the blanched leaf-stalks of which were once used as a salad and pot-herb, but now out of cultivation because of the superior value of celery. It is a biennial, native to Europe, with ternately dissected pinnate radical leaves, and small yellow flowers in umbels. Seed is sown in late summer or in autumn, and the plants transplanted in rows as they come up in spring. The plants are blanched by being banked with earth. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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