Ornithogalum pyrenaicum
| Ornithogalum pyrenaicum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ornithogalum pyrenaicum (common name: bath asparagus)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. Sow the seed thinly and leave the seedlings undisturbed in the pots for their first dormancy, but apply liquid feed at intervals, especially in their second year of growth. Divide the bulbs at the end of their second year of growth, putting 2 - 3 bulbs in each pot. Grow them on for one more year and them plant them out into their permanent positions whilst they are dormant. The seed can also be sown in a cold frame in early spring.
Division of offsets in September/October[1]. The larger bulbs can be replanted immediately into their permanent positions. It is best to pot up the smaller bulbs and grow them on for a year before planting them out when dormant in late summer.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in ordinary garden soil[2][3], thriving in sun or shade[3]. Succeeds in dry soils and, once established, is drought tolerant[4].
Plants are hardy to about -20°c[1].
Grows well in the wild garden[1].
The flowering shoots used to be sold as a food crop in Bath market[5].
Range: S. Europe. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat: Woods and scrub[6]. Dry stony places[4].
Edibility: Young shoots - cooked[2][7][8][9]. The young, unexpanded flowering shoots are cooked and served like asparagus[10][11][6][12][5].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Skin contact with the bulb can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[13]. Any toxins in this plant are concentrated in the bulb[1].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Mabey, Richard. Food for Free. Collins, 1974.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.