Licorice Root

Though rarely grown, Ligusticum lucidum deserves to be much better known. It’s a tall, short-lived, herbaceous perennial or biennial with an upright habit, rather like an elegant cow parsley, with finer leaves and similar flat heads of pure white flowers. The mid-green leaves are very finely cut, rather like those of fennel, but curved back on themselves. In May and June, umbels of tiny white flowers, attractive to pollinating insects, appear, a very useful shape in the border to contrast with plants with a more vertical line. Licorice root usually dies after flowering, but self-seeds freely, so that replacement plants constantly appear.

Site: Sheltered
Soil: Any well-drained soil
Position: Full sun or partial shade
Flowering period: Late spring and early summer
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height: 3’ (90cm) Spread: 3’3” (1m)