Lomatium ambiguum
| Lomatium ambiguum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lomatium ambiguum (common name: biscuitroot)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed can be rather slow to germinate, when sown in the spring it usually takes at least 12 months to germinate. Giving it a period of cold stratification might reduce this time. The seedlings need to be pricked out into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and should be planted out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Fresh seed can be sown immediately in situ.
Division may be possible in spring or autumn.
Cultivation: We have almost no information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in much of the country.
It can be assumed that plants will require a moist but well-drained soil in a sunny position.
This is a taxonomically very difficult genus, many of the species now included in it have at times been included in other genera[1].
Range: Western N. America - British Columbia and Washington to Montana..
Habitat: Open slopes and flat land up to moderate elevations[1]. Usually on dry soils[2].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[3]. A staple food for some native North American Indian tribes[4]. The fresh root is rather like parsnip in flavour, though when the plant dies down the root becomes brittle with an agreeable flavour of celery[3][5]. The root can also be dried and ground into a powder for use as a flavouring in soups etc[6][5][7][8].
Seed - ground into a powder or eaten raw[9]. An aromatic flavour, it can be used as a flavouring in cooked foods.
Flowers and upper leaves can be used as a flavouring in salads, soups etc[4].
Medicinal: An infusion of the flowers and upper leaves has been used in the treatment of colds and sore throats[4].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Cogswelia ambigua. Peucedanum ambiguum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press, 1975.