Smyrnium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae (the carrot or umbelliferous family), placed in the order Apiales. The genus was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in Species Plantarum. It comprises around a dozen species of biennials and short-lived perennials native to a range stretching from southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin east through the Middle East to South Asia, with some species naturalised further north and west.
Plants in this genus are robust biennials, typically growing 1–1.5 m tall. They share the characteristic compound umbels of the Apiaceae, with small yellow-green flowers that attract bees and other insects. The foliage is glossy and the seeds are strongly aromatic — the genus name comes from the Greek smyrna (myrrh), alluding to the myrrh-like fragrance of the seeds. The stems and leaves have a celery-like flavour with pungent notes.
The most widely known species is Smyrnium olusatrum (alexanders or black lovage), which was cultivated as a pot herb and salad plant across Europe from antiquity through the medieval period, valued for its leaves, stems, flower buds, and aromatic seeds. It was largely supplanted by celery (Apium graveolens) as a kitchen herb during the eighteenth century, though it remains naturalised along roadsides and coastal hedgerows, particularly in western and southern Europe. Smyrnium perfoliatum (perfoliate alexanders), recognisable by its distinctive stem-clasping yellow-green bracts, is widely cultivated as an ornamental. Smyrnium creticum is found primarily in the eastern Mediterranean region.
Etymology
The genus name Smyrnium derives from the ancient Greek smyrna (σμύρνα), meaning myrrh, referring to the strongly myrrh-like fragrance of the seeds. This aromatic quality has been noted since antiquity and is what distinguished these plants from other members of the carrot family.
Distribution
Smyrnium is native to a broad arc from southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin — including Spain, Italy, the Balkans, North Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean islands — eastward through Turkey, the Middle East, and into Afghanistan and South Asia. Several species, particularly S. olusatrum, have been introduced and naturalised far beyond this native range, appearing as far north as Belgium and Austria and as far west as the Azores and Bermuda, typically on disturbed ground, coastal hedgerows, and roadsides.
Ecology
Smyrnium species favour disturbed habitats such as hedgerows, roadsides, and waste ground, often near the coast where they tolerate maritime exposure. The plants are insect-pollinated and are particularly attractive to bees and other pollinators, providing an important early-season nectar source when they flower in late spring. As cool-season biennials, the foliage emerges in autumn and persists through winter, providing early-spring green cover. In favourable conditions S. olusatrum can spread vigorously and dominate small garden plots.
Cultural Uses
Smyrnium olusatrum, known as alexanders or black lovage, was one of the principal pot herbs of ancient Greece and Rome and remained widely cultivated in Europe through the medieval period. All parts of the plant were used: the leaves and young shoots were eaten raw in salads or cooked in soups and stews; the stems were consumed raw or cooked, often after blanching to temper their pungency; the flower buds were added to salads; the aromatic seeds served as a pepper substitute; and the roots were boiled in soups. The plant was typically blanched before use to produce a milder, more celery-like flavour. Medicinally it was used historically for asthma, menstrual problems, and wound healing, though these applications are now considered obsolete. By the eighteenth century, alexanders had been largely replaced in the kitchen by cultivated celery.
Cultivation
Smyrnium olusatrum and S. perfoliatum are the species most likely to be grown deliberately. Both are biennials that self-seed freely once established. They thrive in most soils — sandy, loamy, or clay — and prefer an open, sunny position in well-drained but moisture-retentive soil; they also tolerate semi-shade. They are hardy to approximately −15 °C (UK hardiness zone 6) and can cope with coastal, maritime conditions. Plants flower in their second year; to prevent unwanted spread, the fading flower heads should be removed before seeds ripen.
