Ligusticum jeholense seed

LATIN NAME: Ligusticum jeholense

COMMON NAME: Jehol Lovage

The Jehol lovage is a handsome, upright, branching, perennial herb of the moist meadows, and its fine, much-divided, feathery leaves and its tall, upright, many-branched heads of the many small, white flowers have made it a treasured and fine plant of the region. It grows as an upright, branching, perennial herb, reaching up to one metre or so, with the upright, hollow, branching stems bearing the alternate, much-divided, feathery leaves and, through the summer, the tall, upright, many-branched, flat-topped heads of the many small, white flowers, followed by the small, dry, paired, ribbed fruits of the two seeds. It is a species of the flowering plant in the carrot family, and it is native to the moist meadows of the northern China, while it is prized for its long history of traditional use, and it is known as the Jehol lovage.

In the carrot family it is the feathery, white-flowered lovage of the northern meadows, a plant of the old practice that also fills the meadow with nectar heads.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Jehol lovage roots and parts are a familiar subject in the traditional plant chemistry of the northern China, and the constituents have been examined by the researchers across the world. The botanists have mapped its place in the carrot family and the moist meadow flora, and the insect ecologists have counted the bees and the hoverflies on the tall, flat-topped heads of the small, white flowers. The plant is best appreciated as a subject of study rather than a casual remedy, and the growers of the meadow plants keep it in their catalogues for the feathery leaves and the nectar heads.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the meadow garden, the Jehol lovage is the tall, feathery plant of the sunny border. Its flat-topped heads of the white flowers feed the bees and the hoverflies through the summer, and the much-divided leaves give the border a light, airy presence. The traditional use of the region keeps the plant in the old practice, and it grows well in the moist, well-drained ground of the open, sunny spot. Feathery, white-flowered and bee-feeding.

Rake the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil smooth, scatter the seeds thinly over it and cover them with a light dusting of fine compost, water gently and keep the pot in a bright, sheltered spot, and they’ll come up freely.