Perfoliate Alexanders
Perfoliate Alexanders - Smyrnium perfoliatum
Superficially similar to Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) with umbels of yellowish flowers, but only grows to about 60cm, half the height of Alexanders, and has yellowish-green leaves rather than the dark glossy green of Alexanders. Another difference is that the leaves strongly clasp the stem, encircling it.
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Occasionally naturalises as an escape from cultivation, but can become a persistent pest.
Flowering April and May or early June.
Biennial.
Only occasionally encountered in the wild in Britain.
Rarely recorded as an established wild plant in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020



