Bunium bulbocastanum - Pig Nut

Family:	Umbelliferae
Habit:	Perennial
Height:	0.6
Width:	0.25
Synonyms:	Apium bulbocastanum. Ligusticum bulbocastanum.
Range:	Western and Southern Europe, including Britain, from the Netherlands to Italy.

Bunium bulbocastanum (Pig Nut) is a Perennial which grows to a height of 0.6m and a width of 0.25m . It has a hardness rating of 5and is vunerable to frost.
Pig Nut will flower in December to January. the seeds ripen from January to February
The flowers from this plant are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and they are pollinated by Insects

Soil Information

Pig Nut will grow in light (sandy),medium (loamy),hard (clay) soil. It is / is important for the soil to be well drained.
The soil prefers the following PH / acid levels :
- pH of less than 6, Acidic soils
- pH between 6 and 8, Neutral soils
- pH greater than 8, Basic soils
Pig Nut prefers moist soils

Ideal Planting Locations

Pig Nut should not be planted in shady areas.

Rough grassland and banks on chalk[17].

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Can be planted in Cultivated Beds
• Suits a meadow

Cultivation Details

See the plants native habitat for ideas on its cultivation needs. The pig nut has at times been cultivated for its edible root[61]. Although quite small in the wild, there is a potential to improve the size of this root through selective breeding and cultivation.

Edible Uses*

* See disclaimer
Edible Rating: 4/5
Root - raw or cooked[46, 61, 115]. A delicious taste very much like sweet chestnuts when cooked[2, K], but the tubers are very small and fiddly to harvest[183]. Seed and flowers. Used as a flavouring[61, 183], they are a cumin substitute[46]. Leaves - raw or cooked. They are used as a garnish and a flavouring in much the same way as parsley[46, 61, 183].

• Condiment - the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments.
• Leaves -
• Root - includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicinal Uses*

* See disclaimer
Medicinal Rating: 1/5
Astringent[61].

• Astringent - Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. The seedlings only have one cotyledon[17]. Germination is usually free and quick, prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on for their first season in pots. Plant them out into their final positions when dormant in the autumn. The seed can also be sown in situ, but this is best done only if you have lots of seed since far fewer plants will result. Division in spring or autumn.

Known Hazards

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivars

no recorded cultivars

References

Flora of the British Isles.
Clapham, Tootin and Warburg.
Author: Clapham, Tootin and Warburg.
Rating:
Publisher : A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
Date of Publication : 1962

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