Alexanders

Contents

— Introduction
— Description
— Habitat and distribution
—

Introduction

Alexanders has a fascinating past, used as food and medicine since Roman times.

Once called “parsley of Alexandria,” people grew this herb in gardens for years. But then celery became more popular. Even so, Alexanders still grows near the sea today.

What makes Alexanders special is its ability to create aromatic oils. These oils have a strong, sweet smell that attracts many pollinating insects.

This happens because it’s part of the Apiaceae plant family. This family is famous for making fragrant oils.

Pliny, a Roman naturalist from the first century AD, called Alexanders “Smyrnium” because it smelled like myrrh.

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Scientific Name

Smyrnium olusatrum

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Family

Apiaceae

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Botanical description of Alexanders

This tall plant can grow up to 1.5 meters in height and produces greenish-yellow flowers arranged in umbrella-shaped clusters. The flowers emit a strong, myrrh-like scent. The leaves are bright green and have toothed edges, arranged in groups of three at the end of the leaf stalk. The fruit is round and has ridges, and when fully ripened, it turns blackish in colour.

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Status

Biennial. Mediterranean native.

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Habitat and distribution

You can find this Mediterranean plant in many places. It grows near the coast, on sea cliffs, and along roadsides. It also does well in old ruins, hedges, banks, and quarries. The plant comes from Asia Minor, Syria, and the Canary Islands. People have brought it to the British Isles, where it now grows naturally.

• Alexanders distribution map

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Photo identification

• GBIF
• Wildflower Finder

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Parts used for food

Leaves, stalks, fruit and root.

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Harvest time

Spring to summer.

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Food uses of Alexanders

Alexanders, once called “black potherb,” has black, spicy seeds. It often grows in old monastery ruins where monks grew it as a garden herb.

Cook the leaves and stalks for soups, broths, and stews. Use the flowers as spice and decoration in salads. Eat the buds pickled or fried. Add the root to casseroles and stews like parsnip.

This plant is a valuable source of protein, carbohydrates, and fatty acids, which are all found in its fruits.

Furthermore, the plant is rich in flavonoids and other bioactive compounds that offer a range of health benefits.

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Alexanders recipes

• Alexanders Chutney
• Spicy Alexanders In Hot Tomato Sauce
• Alexanders Pasties
• More Alexanders Recipes

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Herbal medicine uses of Alexanders

Alexanders was a traditional plant for cleansing the blood and a digestive herb for strengthening the stomach.

Seafarers used it to treat scurvy and herbalists used it to relieve stomach and urinary problems.

Alexanders was also a remedy for headaches, toothaches, swellings of the body, cuts and bruises, asthma and consumption, or tuberculosis.

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Safety note

There is not much data on this plant’s toxicity. Talk to a health advisor before using it as medicine.

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References

Guarrera, P. M. & Savo, V. (2016) Wild food plants used in traditional vegetable mixtures in Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. [Online] 185202–234.

Bertoli, A. et al. (2004) Volatile constituents of different parts (roots, stems and leaves) of Smyrnium olusatrum L. Flavour and Fragrance Journal. [Online] 19 (6), 522–525.

Salad Burnet is one of the few wild species which supplies edible greenery for most of the year.

During the winter and spring months, you will frequently find new growth sprouting, and this may be used in salads, while you can add more mature leaves to soups and pottages.

The leaves have a bitter flavour reminiscent of cucumber skin.

Salad Burnet was grown and used as a foodstuff for many centuries. In addition, it has been grown in Britain as a fodder crop for cattle because it grows year-round in favourable conditions.

It also responds to being cut back by sprouting new leaves (indeed, this trick of cutting back the foliage as the plant started to produce its flower buds was the gardener’s method of keeping leaf production going).

Scientific Name

Sanguisorba minor subsp. minor

Family

Rosaceae

Botanical Description

The plant grows to between 30-60 cm in height. Leaves: Ovate, serrated leaflets between 0.5-2 cm. Flowers green to dull purplish, 7-12mm.

Status

Perennial. Native.

Habitat and Distribution

It likes poor, dry soil and grows well on dry chalky grassland. Common in Britain but rare in Ireland.

• Salad Burnet distribution map

Parts Used for Food

Leaf.

Harvest Time

Best when the plant is starting to flower. If you regularly harvest a community, the leaves will grow throughout the year, providing an excellent salad crop even in Autumn and Winter.

Food Uses of Salad Burnet

Leaves are eaten in salad and added to soups and pottages. Gerard tells us that: ‘it is thought to make the heart merry and glad.’

Rutty, in 1772, mentions that the leaves were ‘put green into Wine as a cordial, and to give it a grateful taste and smell like Melon; also fresh infused, they mend stale drink’.

The bruised leaves make a tasty infused vinegar.

You can add the fresh leaves to a claret cup. A claret cup is an iced drink made from claret wine and carbonated water, often with lemon juice, brandy (or other spirits) and included fruits and sugar. They were the precursor to Pimms.

If you dry the leaves slowly, they retain their aroma and make a delightful tea.

Nutritional Profile of Salad Burnet

5.65% protein, 1.23% fat, 11% carbohydrate, 1.72% ash.

Salad Burnet Recipes

• Salad Burnet and Tomato Salad

Herbal Medicine Uses of Salad Burnet

Rembert Dodoens (1517-1585) recommended it as a wound healer. Gerard (1545–1612) tells us the juice can be drunk to heal internal bleeding or a decoction of powdered dry leaves in water. For external wounds, you would need to bruise the leaves before applying.

Other Uses

The plant, when eaten by cows, increases its milk yield.

Safety Note

I can find nothing specific to Sanguisorba minor, however, for Sanguisorba officinalis (Greater Burnet), it is recommended that the plant be avoided if you take quinolone antibiotics.

References

Bown, D. (2002) New encyclopedia of herbs and their uses. Rev. ed. London New York Munich: DK Publ.

Couplan, F. (2009) Le régal végétal: plantes sauvages comestibles. Paris: Sang de la Terre.

Facciola, S. (1998) Cornucopia II: a source book of edible plants. Vista: Kampong Publications.

Fleischhauer, S. G. et al. (2014) Enzyklopädie essbare Wildpflanzen: 2000 Pflanzen Mitteleuropas?; Bestimmung, Sammeltipps, Inhaltsstoffe, Heilwirkung, Verwendung in der Küche. Aarau München: AT-Verl.

Grieve, M. (1971) A modern herbal vol 1 (a-h): the medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folk-lore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs, & trees with all their modern scientific uses. New York: Dover Publications.

Karalliedde, L. et al. (2008) Traditional herbal medicines: a guide to their safer use. London: Hammersmith.

Mackay, J. T. (1836) Flora hibernica: comprising the flowering plants, ferns, characeæ, musci, hepaticæ, lichenes and algæ of ireland, arranged according to the natural system with a synopsis of the genera according to the linnæan system. W. Curray jun.

Maloney, B. (1972) Traditional herbal cures in county cavan. Ulster Folklife. 1866–79. Michael, P. & King, C. (2015) Edible wild plants & herbs: a compendium of recipes and remedies. Paperback edition. London: Grub Street.

Read, B. E. (1946) Famine foods listed in the Chiu huang pen tsao: giving their identity, nutritional values and notes on their preparations. Shanghai: Henry Lester Institute of Medical Research.

Rutty, J. (1772) An essay towards a natural history of the county of dublin: accomodated to the noble designs of the dublin society … W. Sleater.

Schuler, S. (1990) Simon & Schuster’s guide to herbs and spices. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Wyse Jackson, P. (2013) Ireland’s generous nature: the past and present uses of wild plants in Ireland. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.

The Wild Service tree has earned its name from the Latin cervisia, because people used its small fruit in ancient times to make a fermented, beer-like liquor.

In The Complete Book of British Berries, David C Lang writes that the name service-tree derives from the Latin word for beer, cerevisia, because the Romans used the fruit of the related true-service tree (Sorbus domestica) to flavour beer.

The Wild Service tree is one of the most local and retiring of our native trees, and knowledge of the fascinating history of its fruits has only recently been rediscovered.

Richard Mabey

Mabey goes on to say that the tree is also known as the Chequers tree, which once referenced the traditional name for a pub, Chequers when the chequerboard was a symbol for an inn or tavern in Roman times.

As a native British species, the tree is now quite rare, and its presence is an indicator of ancient woodlands.

Scientific Name

Sorbus torminalis

Family

Rosaceae

Botanical Description

The branches give the appearance of a tall, domed, spreading crown as the tree reaches heights of 20 m and a girth of 3 m. The bark is dark brown to pale grey and the leaves are dark green with two to five pairs of toothed pointed lobes. The small, apple- or pear-shaped berries are hard and bitter at first, until bletted in autumn frosts and become softer, sweeter and brownish-speckled in appearance.

Status

A British native often found in ancient woodlands.

Habitat and Distribution

This deciduous tree is now rare in Britain. It can be found in Ash and Oak woods, it is an indicator of ancient woodlands. It favours clay or limestone soils. 

• Wild Service tree distribution map

Parts Used for Food

Fruit.

Harvest Time

The fruit are best picked after the first autumn frosts.

Food Uses of Wild Service Tree

In Medieval England and Wales, when the Wild Service tree was widespread in lowland woods, the berries were used in jams, preserves and liqueurs.

In the 19th century, the fruits were sold as chequers as the tree was commonly known in the Weald of Kent.

The berries may be eaten fresh, or raw, after the first autumn frost, when overripe, or made into jams, jellies, syrups, conserves, vinegars and wines.

Nutritional Profile of Wild Service Tree

Sorbus fruits are an important source of vitamin C.

Wild Service Tree Recipes

• Chequer Berry & Sweet Cicely Compote
• Jessica’s Chequer Berry Cake
• Wild Service Tree Jam

Herbal Medicine Uses of Wild Service Tree

While the Wild Service tree has been the subject of several studies to test the antioxidant activities of the fruit, its most unique property appears to be in the fruit’s ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE).

Inhibition of AChE is a potential strategy for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Wild Service tree fruits have demonstrated sufficient antioxidant and AChE inhibitory activity, but further research will determine whether or not the fruit extracts could be used as a supplement in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Other Uses

Wild Service tree is a valued hardwood in Europe. The fine-grained wood is dense and pliable. Past uses include making screws for wine presses, billiard queue sticks, musical instruments and turnery. Modern uses are largely for decorative veneers.

Safety Note

There is little information on the possible toxicity and side effects of eating Wild Service tree berries. 

References

Burrows, I. (2011) Food from the wild. London: New Holland.

Facciola, S. (1998) Cornucopia II: a source book of edible plants. Vista: Kampong Publications.

Hasbal, G. et al. (2015) Antioxidant and antiacetylcholinesterase activities of Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz (wild service tree) fruits. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis. [Online] 23 (1), 57–62.

Lang, D. C. (1987) The complete book of British berries. London: Threshold Books.

Olszewska, M. A. (2011) In vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the inflorescences, leaves and fruits of Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz. Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica. 68 (6), 945–953.

Vaughan, J. G. et al. (2009) The new Oxford book of food plants. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Welk, E. et al. (2016) Sorbus torminalis in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats’.

Crab Apple is the awkward cousin of the cultivated apple and is often overlooked in food and medicine. However, the tree produces small, round hard fruit that makes surprisingly good jams and jellies and can be made into the popular verjuice.

Scientific Name

Malus sylvestris

Family

Rosaceae

Botanical Description of Crab Apple

A small shrub or tree of hedges and woods, a crab tree is sometimes found growing in gardens or front of houses as an ornamental tree. The pendant branches bear shoots with leaves and flowers. The leaves are dark and glossy, and the attractive white or pink flowers blossom from deeply pink-tinged buds. Clusters of crab apple blossom often attract bees in April and May. The tree yields its fruit in autumn, although crab apples are best picked after the first frost, significantly improving their acrid taste.

Status

Native to Britain, Crab Apple trees or wildling apple trees also continue to grow wild across Europe. Several texts suggest the it was the ancestor of all cultivated apples.

Habitat and Distribution

Usually found in hedgerows, woods, and rocky areas, but it may also be grown as an ornamental plant.

• Crab Apple distribution map

Parts Used for Food

Fruit, flowers and leaves

Harvest Time

You can pick the leaves and flowers in April and May, the leaves perhaps earlier, to make tea or frosted decorations. The apples should be picked after the first frost in autumn, perhaps around October to November time.

Food Uses of Crab Apple

Can be used as a substitute for any apple variety in a recipe, as long as the fruit is chosen well (pick a good-looking specimen), harvested at the right time, and preferably cooked rather than eaten raw in a dish or as a snack.

Crab Apple makes surprisingly good jams and jellies, and the fruit’s high pectin content means it helps set other low-pectin fruits such as strawberries into jam.

You can mix Crab Apple with wild fruits to make jellies such as rowanberries, rosehips, hawthorn and sloes. They also make pleasant fruit cheeses mixed with blackberries or other fruits.

Verjuice, made from crushed Crab Apple, is sometimes described as a ‘cider’ or ‘vinegar’, which can be used as a substitute for lemon juice when strained and left for a month. Cooks may use this ‘lemon juice’ in jellies, wines and cider, and, in combination with blackberry, a mousse and pudding.

Nutritional Profile of Crab Apple

Crab Apple is high in vitamin C. Nutritionally, most apples contain a high percentage of water from 80 to 85 per cent. The remaining 10 to 15 per cent are starches and sugars, and various other constituents. Despite their high water content, apples are rich in vitamins and are classed as an essential anti-scorbutic fruit for relieving scurvy, as well as containing organic acids, malic acid, gallic acid and various salts of potash, soda, lime, magnesium and iron.

Crab Apple Recipes

• Country hedgerow jam

Herbal Medicine Uses of Crab Apple

In modern herbal medicine, Crab Apple is a cleansing tonic used to treat stomach and bowel disorders, diarrhoea, and perhaps to a lesser extent today, to treat scabies.

Eating apples is known to stimulate the digestive system and protect against constipation. In addition, the soluble fibre of the fruit helps to lower cholesterol, which is good for protecting the heart and circulation. 

People who have gastric problems are often advised to start or end a meal with an apple.

Other Uses

Crab Apple wood has been used for furniture making, delicate wood making, set squares, and drawing instruments.

Safety Note

Conway warns that you should not eat apples in excess because this can cause griping abdominal pains and upset; further, he says that crab apples cause these symptoms ‘with ease’ and should not be eaten raw.

References

Baïracli-Levy, J. de & Wood, H. (1997) Common herbs for natural health. Woodstock, N.Y.: Ash Tree Publishing.

Cleene, M. de & Lejeune, M. C. (2002) Compendium of symbolic and ritual plants in Europe. Ghent: Man & Culture.

Conway, P. (2002) Tree medicine: a comprehensive guide to the healing power of over 170 trees. London: Piatkus.

Grieve, M. M. (1998) A modern herbal. London: Tiger Books International.

Richardson, A. T. et al. (2020) Discovery of a stable vitamin C glycoside in crab apples (Malus sylvestris). Phytochemistry. [Online] 173112297.

Wyse Jackson, P. (2013) Ireland’s generous nature: the past and present uses of wild plants in Ireland. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.

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Home > Plants > Alexanders

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Alexanders has a fascinating past, used as food and medicine since Roman times.

Once called “parsley of Alexandria,” people grew this herb in gardens for years. But then celery became more popular. Even so, Alexanders still grows near the sea today.

What makes Alexanders special is its ability to create aromatic oils. These oils have a strong, sweet smell that attracts many pollinating insects.

This happens because it’s part of the Apiaceae plant family. This family is famous for making fragrant oils.

Pliny, a Roman naturalist from the first century AD, called Alexanders “Smyrnium” because it smelled like myrrh.

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Scientific Name

Smyrnium olusatrum

---

Family

Apiaceae

---

Botanical description of Alexanders

This tall plant can grow up to 1.5 meters in height and produces greenish-yellow flowers arranged in umbrella-shaped clusters. The flowers emit a strong, myrrh-like scent. The leaves are bright green and have toothed edges, arranged in groups of three at the end of the leaf stalk. The fruit is round and has ridges, and when fully ripened, it turns blackish in colour.

---

Status

Biennial. Mediterranean native.

---

Habitat and distribution

You can find this Mediterranean plant in many places. It grows near the coast, on sea cliffs, and along roadsides. It also does well in old ruins, hedges, banks, and quarries. The plant comes from Asia Minor, Syria, and the Canary Islands. People have brought it to the British Isles, where it now grows naturally.

• Alexanders distribution map

---

Photo identification

• GBIF
• Wildflower Finder

---

Parts used for food

Leaves, stalks, fruit and root.

---

Harvest time

Spring to summer.

---

Food uses of Alexanders

Alexanders, once called “black potherb,” has black, spicy seeds. It often grows in old monastery ruins where monks grew it as a garden herb.

Cook the leaves and stalks for soups, broths, and stews. Use the flowers as spice and decoration in salads. Eat the buds pickled or fried. Add the root to casseroles and stews like parsnip.

This plant is a valuable source of protein, carbohydrates, and fatty acids, which are all found in its fruits.

Furthermore, the plant is rich in flavonoids and other bioactive compounds that offer a range of health benefits.

---

Alexanders recipes

• Alexanders Chutney
• Spicy Alexanders In Hot Tomato Sauce
• Alexanders Pasties
• More Alexanders Recipes

---

Herbal medicine uses of Alexanders

Alexanders was a traditional plant for cleansing the blood and a digestive herb for strengthening the stomach.

Seafarers used it to treat scurvy and herbalists used it to relieve stomach and urinary problems.

Alexanders was also a remedy for headaches, toothaches, swellings of the body, cuts and bruises, asthma and consumption, or tuberculosis.

---

Safety note

There is not much data on this plant’s toxicity. Talk to a health advisor before using it as medicine.

---

References

Guarrera, P. M. & Savo, V. (2016) Wild food plants used in traditional vegetable mixtures in Italy. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. [Online] 185202–234.

Bertoli, A. et al. (2004) Volatile constituents of different parts (roots, stems and leaves) of Smyrnium olusatrum L. Flavour and Fragrance Journal. [Online] 19 (6), 522–525.