Edible plant - intermediate Season - spring to early summer Common names Pignut, hognut, groundnut, earthnut, earth chestnut, kippernut, cipernut, arnut, jarnut, hawknut
Scientific name meaning: Conopodium is derived from the Greek word Konos, meaning cone-shaped, and Podion, meaning small foot. Majus means bigger or larger
Habitat  Pignut can be found in grassland or woodland on neutral or acid soil. It is not found in alkaline soils in the wild. The presence of pignut is an indicator of old established grassland. It is a native of Europe and North Africa. |
Overall structure  Small carrot-like leaves emerge in early spring and lay almost flat to the ground. In later spring, flower stalks reaching up to 50cm emerge. As the flowers open, the initial (basal) leaves die back. Once seeds have set, the rest of the plant dies back. Pignut can be found in small patches or covering acres of pastureland. |
Leaves  The basal leaves are 2-3 times pinnate and resemble domestic carrot seedlings. The stem leaves are also pinnately compound but much finer. |
Stem  The flower stem is robust, cylindrical and grooved. It is hairless and has fine, feather pinnately compound stem leaves. |
Flowers  The five-petalled flowers appear on compound umbels. Before they open out, the umbels are nodding. They have a mild carroty aroma. |
Tuber  The leaves and flower stalk are connected to an underground tuber that can range from a few millimetres to a few centimetres in size. When cleaned of soil, the skin of the tuber is rich brown and the internal flesh is firm and creamy white. Remember: landowner's permission is needed to dig any plant up. |
Seeds  The seeds are teardrop-shaped and retain the external female reproductive parts. These look like to antennae at the top of the seed. |
Possible lookalikes  Pignut is a member of the Apiaceae (carrot) family, which includes deadly poisonous hemlock and hemlock water dropwort. Pignut’s leaves are much finer and smaller than these. It does bear a stronger resemblance to fool's parsley (Atheusa cynapium), pictured, but it does not smell of carrot and has very long bracteoles. Fool's parsley does not have a tuber like pignut. |
Use as a food Only the tuber, nut, is generally eaten but the flowers and seeds can be used to impart a carrot-like flavour. The tuber needs to be cleaned. Peeled and sliced, it can be a foraging snack, or, in enough quantity, pignuts can be sprinkled through a salad for texture. Tastes like a cross between a hazelnut and a radish. Heated up, pignut's flavour becomes a little sweeter but you need an awful lot to make it worthwhile. Remember: landowner's permission is needed to dig any plant up Use in herbal medicine and medicine In the past, pignut was used for purifying blood, as a urine suppressant and to treat tumours
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner.
Hazards Confusion with other members of the Apiaceae family. Pignut is in the same family as celery, parsnip, parsley, coriander and carrots, so people with allergies to these should undertake tolerance tests
Other uses Often used in seed mixtures for meadow hay to feed grazing stock Importance to other species It is eaten by badgers and wild pigs
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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