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Sweet cicely

Quercusrobur81Quercusrobur81 Posts: 231
in Plants
Good morning. Can anybody confirm this is sweet cicely growing in our local wood? I smelt a wonderful licorice smell before I noticed the plants themselves:

Has anyone tried growing this in their garden or used it in cooking before? Is it illegal to collect the seeds of wild plants? Maybe I’d be better off buying off the internet, my book says the plant is easily confused with hemlock 😬

thanks!

Posts

  • AsarumAsarum Posts: 626
    Definitely sweet cicely.  The white patches on the leaves are a clue.  Yes, you can collect seed from the wild. Can get out of hand in a garden so best to cut/collect seed before it drops.
    East Anglia
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 6,656
    Yes that's sweet cicely. Yes I grow it in my garden. If you'd like some seeds, I can collect some for you? They self seed in my garden - not prolifically but a few plants come up each year. They need frost to germinate, so if you're somewhere mild, you may need to stratify the seeds.
    “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first” 
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    Hi elspethscott, it certainly looks like Sweet Cicely. I tried to buy a plant for my garden for ages with no success then suddenly they are everywhere! My daughter reckons a TV chef must have used it and now its de rigeur for all armchair chefs  ;)   Like you I was loathe to take from the wild but one plant will turn into many in a very short time so worth buying one.

    I use it with rhubarb and apple and as a flavouring in drinks.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 6,656
    @herbaceous Maybe the cold winter means everyone else has a lot of self seeded plants to find a home for as well  B)
    “Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first” 
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    @raisingirl never thought of that. I finally got a plant at a flower show last year after looking online and at GCs and shows for about 5 years, now they are available all over the place.

    I have been building my herb garden back up again and it was the most difficult replacement to get, weird.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • IamweedyIamweedy Posts: 1,364
    I encountered some in  National Garden scheme visit. The smell of that and some other grasses and some lime trees are still with me. Real feel good moments.



    'You must have some bread with it me duck!'

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    If you like aniseed (and I do) they're great! Somehow Tarragon doesn't quite get there but still useful.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • Quercusrobur81Quercusrobur81 Posts: 231
    Great! Thanks for the responses everyone, I love aniseed and need a herb that doesn’t mind a shadier spot... Thanks so much for your kind offer of seeds raisin girl! I will try gathering some from the woods but if I’ve missed my window I’ll message you if ok.  I am in Scotland so frost not normally a problem... Thanks again 😁
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