Conopodium majus – Pignut

Pignut is a slender, hairless, perennial member of the carrot family with narrow leaflets on two to three times pinnate leaves. The white flowers are present from May to July. The common name of pignut refers to the plant's rounded brown tubers which are sought out by pigs and can be eaten by humans. Eaten cooked or raw, these tubers have a pleasant nutty flavour.

Type	Seeds per gram	Origin	Ordering
Grassland Perennial	500	Cumbria	Order this species

Habitat Information
This perennial herb is found in two broad ranges of habitat; damp meadows or pastures and woodlands. It is particularly characteristic of some types of northern hay meadow (see top photograph on the right and EM19). Shoots emerge early in the spring and by late June most plants have set seed. By mid July pignut has died back, only its underground tuber remaining alive. This allows pignut to exploit woodland situations because most of its growth has been completed before the leaf canopy has fully developed; it therefore avoids any shade problems. Pignut is strongly dependent on seed for regeneration and will be lost from unmanaged, rank grasslands.

Growing Information
Seed dormancy is broken by a period of chilling, therefore sowing should take place in autumn.