Prefers full sun and a sandy loam low in nutrients.

Leaves - cooked as a spinach. The root juice has been used as a chewing gum.

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 6 weeks at 15°c. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer or late in the following spring. Division with care in spring. The plants do not like a lot of root disturbance so it is best to pot up the divisions and keep them in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are established.

Meadows and woods from moderate to high elevations.