Sweet Cicely

Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) grows in the Pyrenees and Alps, thriving in cool, moist soils, often at the edge of forests. Her leaves are a soft and feathery green lace. Crush them between your fingers, and they release a perfume so sweet it once perfumed the floors of medieval churches. Indeed, in Britain, Sweet Cicely was a strewing herb, scattered across stone aisles to mask the scent of damp and devotion. Her leaves also polished oak panelling. She was once prized for her ability to sweeten rhubarb without sugar. Cooks would toss her leaves into stews and her green seeds into salads. Her roots were boiled and candied. Children would nibble the seeds straight from the stem. And in old herbal texts, she was said to be “very good for old people that are dull and without courage”.