Lovage… Ernst Kirchsteiger’s favourite herb. Lovage (Levisticum officinale), also called maggi plant or smellage, is a perennial in the umbellifer family. It grows between 100 and 250 centimetres tall and flowers from July to August, with pale yellow flowers in umbels of 12 to 20 rays. The whole plant is fragrant. The stem is smooth, hollow, hairless and bluish. The leaves are narrowly triangular and glossy, with two to three lobes. The fruit is five to seven cm long and brown, with low ridges on the back and winged ridges on the edges. It was formerly grown as a medicinal plant. The leaves and stems are used as a seasoning in, for example, stock and soup.
Lovage is rare in Sweden and survives as a naturalised remnant of cultivation. It can be found at old crofts, by outbuildings, on rubbish tips and on waste ground. Its range is limited, but in parts of central and northern Sweden, throughout Norway and in northern Finland it can be found. It originates from the eastern Mediterranean.
