Additional notes (click to expand)

Horticulture

Notes from our supplier: "The Skirret sifarum (says Mr Evelyn) is hot and moist, corroborating & good for the stomach, exceeding nourishing, wholesome & delicate, & of all the root kinds, not subject to be windy, & so valued by the Emperor Tiberius, that he accepted them in tribute..."

Notes from our supplier on the seed packet: "A perennial vegetable, thought to have originated in China. It is probable that it was introduced by the Romans, and then lost to cultivation, only to be re-introduced to Tudor and Stuart kitchen gardens when it was very popular."

Medicinal

In traditional medicine the edible root cultivated in England since the 16th century is said to be " a useful diet in chest complaints".
Grieve, Mrs M. (1931). A Modern Herbal, Penguin. Leyel, Mrs CF

Culpeper says "Of Scirrets.They are hot and moist, of good nourishment, something windy, as all roots; by reason of which they...stir up appetite".
'Mrs Grieves (1931) A Modern Herbal' at www.botanical.com

Geographical distribution

  • Asia-Temperate, Caucasus, North Caucasus
  • Asia-Temperate, Caucasus, Transcaucasus
  • Asia-Temperate, Middle Asia, Kazakhstan
  • Asia-Temperate, Middle Asia, Kyrgyzstan
  • Asia-Temperate, Middle Asia, Tadzhikistan
  • Asia-Temperate, Middle Asia, Turkmenistan
  • Asia-Temperate, Western Asia, Iran
  • Asia-Temperate, Western Asia, Iraq
  • Asia-Temperate, Western Asia, Turkey
  • Europe, Eastern Europe
  • Europe, Middle Europe, Hungary
  • Europe, Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria
  • Europe, Southeastern Europe, Romania

Sium sisarum L.

Family: APIACEAE
Genus: Sium
Species: sisarum L.
Common names: Skirret
Distribution summary: Temperate Asia, Europe
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: H6 - Hardy; very cold winter
Habitat: Roadsides, wasteland & cultivated land
Garden status: Currently grown
Garden location: Mulberry Tree bed (H)
Flowering months: July
Reason for growing: Medicinal


Back to List