3 thoughts on “The paradoxical habby pesto”

  1. Hi Stephen,
    Are you getting your seeds for the golpar from Heracleum mantegazzanium ?

    I thought that stuff was horrendously phototoxic and frequently sprayed with very nasty chemicals?

    How do you get the seed whilst minimising the risks?

    Best wishes, Tim

    1. No, mine are from other wild and cultivated species in my garden, notably H. maximum (North American Cow Parsnip). I wouldn’t hesitate using mantegazzianum seed as its so closely related to H. persicum (difficult to tell apart from mantegazzianum with which it also hybridizes). H. persicum is the source of golpar (look it up on wikipedia) an important spice in Iran (or search for golpar on this blog). There is no danger of burning yourself (phototoxic effect) when picking the dried seed as there is no living tissue (plant juices are needed) and you are also doing a service by taking the seed and limiting the spread. But, yes be absolutely sure the area you are picking hasn’t been sprayed! Good luck!

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