It was worth a try. I noticed this bright green plant growing in big swathes in the shade of a hedge along the Canal du Midi in 2023. Since I was then still in the phase of throwing plants at the garden to see what stuck I decided to try them out in a similar corner. And since they were supposedly an old and healthy vegetable, that idea sounded even better. So I planted some in a half-shady corner or our garden.
Smyrnium olusatrum is a native of the Mediterranean and European Atlantic coastal regions. According to Wikipedia it used to be valued as an early vegetable and against scurvy. The stems can be cooked like asparagus, the young shoots and roots can be used in salads and soups. Young leaves supposedly taste like something between celery and parsley.
The plants did scarily well in spring. But they disappeared completely in summer and left the corner bare. And they did not taste good at all. I found their taste overwhelmingly strong and unpleasant, so I dug them up again and will use that corner for something a bit less invasive and more decorative year-round.
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