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Apiaceae FAMILY

Opopanax chironium

Opopanax chironium

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in any good garden soil[1]. It can tolerate very considerable neglect, some plants we were growing were left to fend for themselves in very dense weed growth and survived well for 8 years before being moved to another site[PFAF]. We are not sure how hardy this plant is, but the foliage has withstood short periods of temperatures down to -6°c with us[PFAF]. A warm climate is necessary in order to produce good quality gum[2]. Plants seem to be very tolerant of root disturbance, specimens that had been growing for 4 years in one site grew away very well when transplanted as they came into growth in late autumn[PFAF].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ. If seed is in short supply then it is best to sow it in a pot in the greenhouse in early spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Opopanax+chironium>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  3. [3]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  4. [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎