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Osmorhiza
Also called Sweet-cicely, Sweet Root, Sweet Cicelies
Osmorhiza is a genus of perennial woodland herbs in the carrot family, mostly native to North America, with a few species in South America and Asia. Most are wild plants rather than common garden subjects, and the roots have long been used in folk medicine, so caution is needed around lookalikes.
Osmorhiza is a genus of perennial herbs, known generally as sweet cicely, sweetcicely, or sweetroot. Most species are native to North America, but some grow in South America and Asia. Some species are used for medicinal purposes, but have dangerous lookalikes. The fruits of this plant have barbs on the end allowing them to stick to clothing, fur, or feathers.
American Indians used the roots of sweet cicely as a panacea. It was used as a tonic for upset stomachs and to ease childbirth. The root was poulticed on boils and wounds, and a root tea was used as an eye wash. Folk medicine lists uses of the plant as an expectorant and as a tonic for coughs and for stomachaches.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Osmorhiza 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.
