Requires a moist soil for good root production. A good bee plant. All parts of the plant emit an unpleasant smell when bruised.

Tubers - raw or cooked. A wholesome and nutritious food, they have a pleasant mild nutty flavor. The tubers can be dried and ground into a powder that is used in making bread etc. The tubers are formed in the autumn. Although quite small, they are fairly smooth and produced in a reasonable quantity so are not too fiddly to utilize. Young shoots - cooked. Used as an asparagus substitute. A pleasant taste but the smell is disagreeable. Seed. No further details are given.

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

By streams and ditches, also in swamps and fens. Occasionally found on arable land.