#osmorhiza

[faguscarolinensis]

Osmorhiza longistylus / Aniseroot at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[vandaliatraveler]

Longstyle sweetroot (Osmorhiza longistylis), also known as aniseroot. sweet anise, and long-styled sweet cicely, is one of my favorite finds in Appalachia’s shady, spring woods. The crushed leaves and roots of this plant have the odor and flavor of licorice. Old timers made a potent tea of the plant’s roots, which can also be chewed raw or made into a flavoring; an extract from longstyle sweetroot can be used as a flavoring substitute for licorice. This graceful perennial produces delicate white flowers arranged in compound umbels on a tall flowering stalk. The fern-like foliage is divided into three compound leaves, which are further subdivided into three, coarsely-toothed leaflets. Longstyle sweetroot is a “bellwether” plant; it requires high quality habitat in which to grow and thrive, and its disappearance from the forest indicates an ecosystem in decline. The photos above were taken in Coopers Rock State Forest.

[geoffreyneal]

Osmorhiza longistylus (sweet cicely) in fruit. #cokerarboretum #ncbg #northcarolinabotanicalgarden #unc #chapelhill #osmorhiza #osmorhizalongistylis #sweetcicely #native #nativeflora #gffry (at Coker Arboretum)

[uswildflowers]

Osmorhiza claytonii