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Ligusticum scothicum
Also called Scottish Licorice Root, Beach Lovage, Scottish Lovage, Scot's Lovage, Scotch Lovage, Scotch Wild Lovage, Sea Parsley
Scots lovage is a low perennial of the carrot family that grows in rock crevices and coastal cliff grassland in cold northern regions. It is best grown in a cool, sunny, well-drained spot, as it naturally thrives in harsh, exposed, salty conditions.
Ligusticum scoticum, known as Scots lovage, or Scottish licorice-root, is a perennial flowering plant in the celery family, Apiaceae. It grows up to 60 centimetres (24 in) tall and is found in rock crevices and cliff-top grassland. It is closely related to, and possibly conspecific with, Ligusticum hultenii from the coast of the northern Pacific Ocean.
Scots lovage is found near the coasts of northern Europe and north-eastern North America. The plant is edible and contains the compound sotolon, which is also present in fenugreek. The leaves have a flavour similar to parsley or celery, while the seeds taste similar to fenugreek or cumin.
Ligusticum scoticum is primarily an Arctic plant, with a disjunct range extending from northern Norway to the more northerly shores of the British Isles, and from western Greenland to New England. A related species, Ligusticum hultenii, which was described by Merritt Lyndon Fernald in 1930 and may be better treated as a subspecies of L. scoticum, occurs around the northern Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Alaska. The southernmost occurrence of L. scoticum is at Ballyhalbert in Northern Ireland.
The plant was formerly widely eaten in western Britain, both for nutrition and to combat scurvy. The leaves and stalks are edible before the flowers appear, and contain vitamin A and C. They can be consumed raw or cooked like celery. Additionally, the young shoots can be candied and the leaves can be used to make tea.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ligusticum scoticum 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.
