Lovage, Levisticum officinalis, Black Lovage, Smyrnium Olusatrum

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Lovage officinalis
 Lovage, Levisticum officinalis is blooming this week in the veg garden. I wrote about it in April, 2011 and here's a link to that article.

It's supposed to be hardy in zones 4 to 8 though I suspect that ours are coming up from seed rather than last year's root.

When the J. L. Hudson Seedsman supplement arrived last week, I noticed a Black Lovage offering that made me curious. Also called Horse Parsley, Tanya at Lovely Greens says Black Lovage, Smyrnium Olusatrum, was brought to the UK by the Romans and now is considered a weed by many. She steamed them and ate the stems with butter and salt. Pronounced them delicious.

Arthur Lee Jacobson posted about Black Lovage, Smyrnium Olussatrum, in April 2006, giving it mixed reviews.

Two recipe sources for using Lovage - Cooks and The Guardian.
Lovage officinalis

Since Lovage officinalis does well here, I'm considering adding the Black variety. Anyone growing either or both of them?



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