Japanese honewort (mitsuba) is a perennial herb in the carrot family, grown mainly as an edible garnish and salad or soup herb in Japan and East Asia. It likes cool, moist, partly shaded conditions.
Family
Apiaceae (Carrot family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep soil consistently moist; it suits damp, shady spots.
Soil
Rich, moist, humus-rich soil or a moisture-retentive potting mix.
Temperature
10–25 °C; prefers cool conditions and may bolt in heat.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Vietnam to Sakhalin and Temp. E. Asia
Climate
temperate
About
Cryptotaenia japonica, commonly called mitsuba, Japanese wild parsley and Japanese honewort among other names, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the celery family native to Japan, Korea and China. The plant is edible and is commonly used as a garnish and root vegetable in Japan, and other Asian countries. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of Cryptotaenia canadensis as Cryptotaenia canadensis subsp. japonica.
Uses
Cryptotaenia japonica has both culinary and traditional medical uses. It is raised as a seasoning (similar to angelica). Like parsley, the flavor is clean and refreshing with a slightly bitter taste which some describe as celery-like. The sprouts are used in salads and soup.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cryptotaenia japonica 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.