| Description |
Cicely, Sweet Cicely, or Garden Myrrh, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Apiaceae family that is native to the mountains of central and Southern Europe. Cicely has bright green, fern-like foliage, softly hairy stems, and large umbels of white flowers. It's fruits are 15-25mm long, slender, and dark brown. Cicely is grown for ornamental, culinary, and medicinal purposes. It can be an important food source for bees as it is one of the earliest plants to flower in the spring. It's leaves, stalks, and seeds have a sweet anise flavor and can be used as a healthy sweetener in deserts. Leaves can also be sautéed or added to salads, soups, and other dishes. Roots can be eaten raw, boiled like parsnips, or made into wine. The flowers and young seed pods are also edible. Cicely is used to make the liqueur Chartreuse. Medicinally, it is used as a tonic for the digestive system, a mild laxative, and a mood lifter. Cicely self-seeds easily, so be sure to deadhead flowers before they go to seed if you don't want this to happen. If starting from seed, be sure to cold-stratify seeds.
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