Smyrnium olusatrum, alexanders (or alisander) is an fit for human consumption flowering plant of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), grows on waste floor and in hedges across the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastal areas of Europe. It become previously extensively grown as a pot herb, however is now liked mainly through foragers.
Alexanders became as soon as relatively valued in northern Europe as an early vegetable: one of the few clean plant life that may be eaten in February or March. In the west of Britain, it had a popularity among sailors of "clearing the blood" and curing scurvy, and in Dorset it became recognised as "helrut", that is in all likelihood a corruption of "heal root".The seeds have additionally been used as a treatment for scurvy.