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Cyperus longus - L.

Galingale

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Cyperaceae	Genus	Cyperus
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Britain and the Mediterranean region north to Lake Geneva.
Habitat	By water in ditches and marshy places[17].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	1 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 1.2m by 2m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist or wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats

Pond; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Root.

Edible Uses: Condiment.

Tuber - used as a spice in soups, pies and sweets[5, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Aromatic; Tonic.

The root is an aromatic tonic[4]. It was at one time considered to be a good stomachic and useful in the first stages of dropsy, but it has now fallen into disuse[4, 238].

Other Uses

Basketry; Essential; Paper; Weaving.

The leaves are used in basketry and for weaving hats, matting etc[100]. The root and stem have the scent of violets and are used in perfumery[4, 46, 61, 245]. The aroma becomes more pronounced when the root has been dried and left to age[245]. A fibre obtained from the plant is used in paper making[100].

Scented Plants

Root: Crushed Dried

The root has a sweet moss-like perfume, resembling that of the violet but not so pure. The aroma becomes more fragrant with age.

Stem: Crushed Dried

The stem has a sweet moss-like perfume, resembling that of the violet but not so pure. The aroma becomes more fragrant with age.

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist sandy loam[95, 117]. Succeeds in any good garden soil so long as it does not dry out[162], it also grows well in up to 30cm of water[200]. Plants are hardy to about -15°c[200]. A very ornamental plant[1], though it can spread freely at the roots when well-suited[233]. Galingale was one of the favourite spices of the medieval kitchen and was an ingredient of 'pokerounce', a kind of medieval cinnamon toast[183]. It is rarely used at present. Both the root and the stem have a sweet moss-like perfume, resembling that of the violet but not so pure. The aroma becomes more fragrant with age[245].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in the spring and keep the compost moist[164]. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 6 weeks at 18°c[164]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. Grow on for their first winter in a greenhouse and plant them out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Division in spring or autumn. Division is simple at almost any time of the year, so long as the roots are not allowed to become dry. Plant them out straight into their permanent positions.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Edible Pond and Bog Garden.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
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.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. 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.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[117] Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984 ISBN 0802707699
A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.

[162] Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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