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Smyrnium olusatrum L., Alexanders

Account Summary

Introduction, archaeophyte, rare.

1900; Praeger, R.Ll.; Co Fermanagh.

April to October.

Growth form and preferred habitats

In Ireland, this 50-150 cm tall, glabrous, robust, very conspicuous and fully naturalised biennial with a fleshy, carrot-shaped, tuberous taproot 30-40 mm long in the first year of its growth, is mainly a plant of the E and S coasts, although it does also penetrate inland in a much more localised manner. Throughout B & I, it is locally abundant along roadside hedgebanks and wayside paths, often under the dappled shade of tall trees. It also grows on sea cliffs and in waste ground and is especially frequent and often abundant in open wayside habitats near the sea.

Fermanagh occurrence

In landlocked Co Fermanagh, NW Ireland it is only very occasional to rare, but it certainly is long persistent in six of the seven known scattered sites it occupies in hedgerows and beside old dwellings. Alexanders is particularly abundant around Portora Castle in Enniskillen, where it could very well have been growing for several centuries. It has not been recorded at Newtownbutler since 1951. The local site details are: roadside, Portora, 1951, Dr G. Gillespie (still there); hedgerow backing gardens, Newtownbutler, 1951, MCM & D; roadside, bridge and farmyard, Aghalane Td, Woodford River, SE Upper Lough Erne, 1990 & 1996, RHN; on Wattle Bridge, 6 April 1996, RHN, still there 2005; roadside at Geaglum and Derrychree Tds, on the shores of Upper Lough Erne, 2 July 2002, RHN; large patch near crossroads at Black Lough near Glasmullagh House, 14 December 2003, RHN.

Introduction and uses

Archaeological evidence supports the idea that the plant, being a common edible native of S & SW Europe as far north as NW France, was originally introduced to Britain by the Romans. It is believed that it was widely used blanched like Chicory as a culinary potherb (the young stems taste like Celery), until the latter replaced it in the 15th century, although in fact garden Celery did not become distinct from the wild form until the 17th century (Salisbury 1964, p. 272; Tutin 1980). It appears to have gone out of fashion as a useful vegetable, but is so well naturalised it has become no less characteristic of maritime habitats than many coastal natives (Stace & Crawley 2015).

The Romans possibly did not make it to Ireland (another subject of ongoing debate), but the plant was probably introduced along with the traditional monastery garden plants in early Christian times, if not before, since apart from its use as a potherb, the plant also enjoyed an ancient reputation as a medicinal herb. Among seafarers, for instance, it was believed to 'clear the blood' and to prevent scurvy, sailors being known to put ashore specially to collect the plant (Allen & Hatfield 2004).

British and Irish occurrence

The New Atlas species account suggests that while the distribution of S. olusatrum is not much changed since the 1960s, it is increasing somewhat in both frequency and abundance along roadsides in inland areas of B & I. Since the species is so completely naturalised and persistent everywhere that it occurs, there does not seem to be any simple explanation as to why it has such a predominantly coastal distribution in these islands (M.F. Watson, in: Preston et al. 2002).

Threats

None.