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Maytime Flower, Scotland (1 Viewer)

delia todd

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Scotland
Could someone help me with identifying this pretty flower please.

Picture taken mid May in east-central Scotland.
 

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Gosh! That's a new one on me - thanks so much Aeshna.
 
Various parts of the plant are edible and the Garlicky taste can be subtle - i have used the leaves in both salads and on an omelette but best when fresh i.e. before or when first flowering. I dug up some roots a while back. Because the species is biennial a small taproot and basal leaves form the first year followed by an increase in size in the second year of flowering and seeding - at this stage the root(s) can be carefully lifted, washed and left to dry. I have only done it once, the taste is spicy like a mild Horseradish but it might be best to buy a jar of Horseradish;)

If you want the real deal then find wild Horseradish and follow the same procedure and you should get roots with a real ‘wang’ that you can preserve.....without adding cream which is for girlies;)

Laurie:t:
 
Thanks Laurie.... I guessed it would be edible.

I love horse radish, but not really the vinegary stuff in the jars, I prefer to make my own. Fortunately I've now found a supplier in Perth, as I don't have facilities for growing such plants in this flat.
 
Garlic Mustard- popular larval food plant for Orange-tip ...
Interesting point there that many books emphasize Cuckooflower (a decidedly scarce plant) as the go-to larval food plant for Orange-tip, often without even mentioning the vastly more abundant Garlic Mustard. Given the relative abundance of the two, most Orange-tips must have been raised on Garlic Mustard.
 
I wouldn’t attempt growing it either Delia as the tap-root can be a couple of feet long - fortunately it grows in local damp shady grassland and the huge leaves are obvious so i dig one up from time to time:t:

Laurie -
 
I wouldn’t attempt growing it either Delia as the tap-root can be a couple of feet long - fortunately it grows in local damp shady grassland and the huge leaves are obvious so i dig one up from time to time:t:

Laurie -

Blimey you must have mutant ones up there. I've got it in my garden but have never had one with a root like that or what I would describe as huge leaves. It does self-seed readily and I weed many out, Though I think the flower is quite pretty I mainly grow it for the butterflies.
 
To clarify i am referring to wild Horseradish - the ones locally grow on deep, moist, shady soil. I have found the leaves to be a good guide to the length of the tap root. Currently they are 12-18” - i am passing them shortly and will take a pic with something for scale:t:

Laurie -
 
To clarify i am referring to wild Horseradish - the ones locally grow on deep, moist, shady soil. I have found the leaves to be a good guide to the length of the tap root. Currently they are 12-18” - i am passing them shortly and will take a pic with something for scale:t:

Laurie -

Sorry- I misunderstood. Thought we were discussing Garlic Mustard still. I see Horseradish growing in patches around London.
 
Years ago, when I had a garden, I purchased a Horseradish plant and put it in an out of the way corner.

The following year I must have pulled it up thinking it was a dock (a real problem there!) A few months later I went looking for the horseradish and wondered where it had gone!
 
Years ago, when I had a garden, I purchased a Horseradish plant and put it in an out of the way corner.

The following year I must have pulled it up thinking it was a dock (a real problem there!) A few months later I went looking for the horseradish and wondered where it had gone!

Though unrelated (Horseradish is a crucifer with white flowers) the leaves are superficially like Broad-leaved Dock, so can understand how you did it.
 
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