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Ammi majus
Also called Bishopsweed, Greater Ammi, Laceflower, Lady’s Lace, Queen Anne's lace, Bullwort, Bishop's Weed
Ammi majus is an annual (sometimes biennial) in the carrot family, grown for its lacy white umbels. It is usually grown from seed sown in place, and it needs full sun and well-drained soil.
Ammi majus, commonly called bishop's flower, false bishop's weed, laceflower, bullwort, etc., is a member of the carrot family Apiaceae. The plant, which has white lace-like flower clusters, has a large distribution through Southern Europe, North Africa and West and Central Asia, though it is hypothesized to be native to the Nile River Valley.
Like its close relative Ammi visnaga, A. majus and its cultivars are frequently seen in gardens where they are grown from seed annually. The species and the cultivar 'Graceland'
have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Considered indigenous to Egypt, or parts of Europe and the Middle East/West Asia. It is also found scattered in the British Isles, in North and Central Scotland, widely distributed in the Mediterranean region (including Southern Europe and North Africa), as well as West Africa and Abyssinia.
In Egypt around 2000 BC, the juice of Ammi majus was rubbed on patches of vitiligo after which patients were encouraged to lie in the sun. In the 13th century, vitiligo was treated with a tincture of honey and the powdered seeds of a plant called "aatrillal," which was abundant in the Nile River Valley. The plant has since been identified as A. majus, but the trade name Aatrillal is still used today to refer to the yellowish-brown powder made from its seeds.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ammi majus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
