Inula conyza Seeds | Ploughman’s Spikenard

Dull yellow flower heads and downy rosette leaves of Ploughman's Spikenard (Inula conyza) — Ploughman’s Spikenard (*Inula conyza*): Asteraceae, a biennial of dry European woodland banks and scrub.

LATIN NAME: Inula conyza

COMMON NAME: Ploughman’s Spikenard

Plant Profile

Ploughman’s spikenard is a biennial or short-lived perennial of the daisy family, native to dry, calcareous woods, banks and scrub across Europe and western Asia. In its first year it makes a rosette of downy, oval leaves; in its second it sends up a stiff, purplish stem sixty to a hundred and twenty centimetres tall, with small, dull yellow flower heads in late summer.

The whole plant has a heavy, smoky, resinous smell that is strongest when the leaves are crushed. The seed heads are fluffy and are carried on the wind, and a single plant can produce thousands of seeds in a good year.

Science & Biotechnology

The name conyza comes from the Greek for flea, and the plant was once hung in houses and rubbed on animals to drive the pests away, a use that has been tested against insects with modest results. Its roots and leaves contain an essential oil rich in sesquiterpenes.

The species has been included in surveys of calcareous woodland plants, where it indicates long-undisturbed ground. Its seed germination has been studied in relation to light and disturbance, which explains why it appears on banks that have been cut or scraped. Its pollen is a late-summer food for solitary bees.

Uses & Benefits

The root was used as a substitute for spikenard in poor households, which gives the plant its English name, and it was burned as incense in churches. In the garden it is grown for its architectural stems and its late flowers, which are among the last nectar sources of the year.

It suits a dry, shady bank or a woodland edge, where its upright stems and dusty yellow heads fit the informal planting. The flowers are visited by bees and hoverflies in late summer, when little else is in bloom.

In parts of Europe the plant was also used as a strewing herb, scattered on floors to scent a room and to discourage fleas, and the dried root was hung in storehouses for the same reason. Its smell is strong enough that a few leaves will scent a whole shed.

Growing from Seed

Sow in spring or autumn at 15-20C, barely covering the seed. The plant makes a rosette in its first year and flowers in its second, then dies; let a few heads ripen to keep it going.

Plant out in light shade or sun on well-drained, preferably alkaline soil, and avoid rich ground, which makes the stems floppy. Stake tall stems in exposed gardens, and cut them back after the seed has fallen. Seed should be sown on the surface, since it needs light, and the pots kept outside through winter so that the cold can break dormancy. In a garden, leave the dead stems standing until spring, because they hold seed for the birds.

Our Take

An odd, aromatic plant with a history of fleas, incense and poor men’s medicine. It is worth a place at the edge of a wood for its late flowers and its scent.

Herb Seeds