Laceflower Ammi majus

LATIN NAME: Ammi majus

COMMON NAME: Bishop’s Flower

The laceflower lifts its flat, lacy, white umbels on the tall, branching stems, and the finely divided, feathery leaves fill the base of the plant. The tall, upright, branching, annual plant carries the finely divided, feathery, bright-green leaves and the large, flat, lacy, white umbels of the many small flowers through the summer, one of the fine, airy sights of the border and the cut-flower patch, drawing the hoverflies and the bees. The flowers have a long record as the fine, airy fillers of the old vases, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the cut-flower garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The laceflower is a curious subject of the plant science, and the lacy umbels keep showing up in the work on the umbel flowers. The way the large, flat, lacy, white umbels of the many small flowers form at the top of the tall stems has been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the umbel flowers, the beneficial-insect plants and the members of the carrot family. The finely divided leaves and the upright, branching habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the laceflower is a regular subject of the work on the lacy umbels of the warm world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The laceflower is a fine, airy plant of the border and the cut-flower patch. The large, flat, lacy, white umbels of the many small flowers open through the summer, one of the fine, airy sights of the border, drawing the hoverflies and the bees, and the tall stems come to the vases as the fine, airy fillers of the old arrangements. It is one of the fine choices for the border, the cut-flower patch and the study collection, and it has been written about in the horticultural and the botanical papers for the lacy umbels and the airy ways. It is a fine, airy plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden.

Give the young plants the deep, moist bed, and the lacy umbels will rise in the first season.

To grow the laceflower from seed, sow the small, ridged seeds over the surface of the tray of fine, moist soil, with a light press, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the deep, moist, well-drained ground, the lacy umbels will rise through the summer.

Uses: Medicinal/Poisonous

(Bishopsweed) Known to the ancient Egyptians as a treatment for skin diseases this humble wild plant of the Nile valley was recently catapulted to the forefront of modern cancer research. Attractive white lacy flowers are excellent for fresh floral arrangements.