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Scandix pecten-veneris
Also called Shepherd's Needle, Sheperd's Needle, Venus' Comb, Venus's Comb, Venus' Needle
An annual weed of arable fields in Europe and western Asia, named for its long, comb-like seed beaks. It grows from seed each year, so sow or let it self-seed in spring in open, sunny ground.
Scandix pecten-veneris (shepherd's-needle, Venus' comb, Stork's needle) is a species of edible plant belonging to the family Apiaceae. It is native to Eurasia, but is known to occur elsewhere. It is named for its long fruit, which has a thickened body up to 1.5 centimeters long and a beak which can measure up to 7 centimeters long and is lined with comblike bristles.
Scandix pecten-veneris has a range extending from Western, Central and Southern Europe Eastwards to Western and Central Asia and is found also in the Maghreb.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Scandix pecten-veneris 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.
