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Is it French tarragon?
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Posted by PurpleRainbow z8 NW WA (My Page) on Wed, Aug 3, 05 at 19:06
| I purchased a plant labeled French tarragon, no latin name given. Research I've done provides conflicting info. Some places say it will not flower and produce seed and can only be grown from cuttings, other places say it will flower and grow from seed. Supposedly it is harder to come by than other herbs but the plant labeled French tarragon remains in stock at Fred Meyer in their garden center. What I have looks like pictures of French tarragon, it has a sort of licorice taste. How do I know if this is Artemisia dracanculus or something else? I'd thought that if it flowers it isn't the real thing, now I'm not so sure. Help? |
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RE: Is it French tarragon?
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French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Also known as Estragon. A half-hardy perennial, growing to about 60cm high and 45cm wide. Has long, fibrous roots spreading by runners. Leaves have an Anise-like flavour and are much used in French cuisine. Woody stems are covered with lance-shaped, thin, blue-green leaves about 5cm long. Flowers are small and greenish-white, and are seldom fully opened. French Tarragon rarely sets seed, especially in cool climates (and much of the seed is sterile) and is usually propagated by stem cuttings, taken in early spring. They are slow to ‘strike’. The best way to tell if you have French Tarragon (as opposed to Russian Tarragon or Winter Tarragon) is a taste test. When you taste the leaves of French Tarragon, you get an astonishing tongue-numbing effect. (Useful when you have a toothache!) Russian Tarragon is very similar to French Tarragon in appearance, but it has a dubious sort of flavour, and it self-seeds readily, and can become a weed in no time flat. It's also taller than French Tarragon. Winter Tarragon is Tagetes lucida, also known by many other names including Mexican Marigold Mint, Cloud Plant or Yerba anis. It makes a reasonable flavour substitute for French Tarragon, but the tongue-numbing effect is considerably reduced. The leaves of this plant are greener than the green-grey colour of French Tarragon. And it's easier to grow in warmer climates. The tarragon labelling system is one of my pet bugbears. Too many nurseries wrongly label plants, so that buyers are fobbed off with the wrong thing. It happens all the time, and I think it's a disgraceful state of affairs. |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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| Thanks, Daisyduckworth, that was fast! I was just coming back to do more reading of threads and you'd already responded. Tongue numbing, huh? Well, maybe I have the real thing. I was wondering why my tongue feels like it does. I will sample again to be sure. Thanks. I don't know what anise tastes like, though I know I should, I just don't recall right now. LOL My plant is small so size isn't going to tell me what it is yet. I agree with you about the labeling, it's not just tarragon that gripes me, it's often a gamble to trust the labeling on plants. I knew when I bought it there was a good chance of mislabeling and that's one reason I've been trying to figure out what it is. I grabbed one in case it was correctly labelled. I think I can pretty reasonably rule out Mexican tarragon. I just might have to add it to my herb collection, though. Yes, another taste test is in order. :o) |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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| Aniseed tastes like liquorice. In fact, most commercial liquorice confectionery has little or no liquorice in it at all - it's made with an aniseed extract. So - French Tarragon tastes a bit like liquorice - with tongue-numbing oomph. |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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| The taste is right, and there is some tongue numbing but I'm not sure it's an oomph. I think that maybe I do have the real thing. How lucky is that? LOL :o) |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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| I see most say there isn't any French tarragon seed but one website says they are "difficult" to find. Just ordered tarragon from "Seeds of Italy"--a good seed supplier--and its website (but not its print catalog) says the Franchi Sementi seeds are the " true French tarragon, not the more common and somewhat coarser Russian tarragon." The Franchi label reads "Drangcello" which leds me to believe it might be the real thing. Or has the American distributor made an error? Not too interested in starting a bunch of it if it is the Russian variety. |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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| Update: I don't have French Tarragon. Russian is referred to as French tarragon in Italy (same mistake we see here often) and the American distributor (who grew it out and discovered it was Russian), while changing his package to reflect the true orgin, forgot to update his website. He replied to an email inquiry within hours and offered a refund (which I declined. Might as well grow it). |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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- Posted by carex USDA zone 8a (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 6, 08 at 10:56
| I have a friend in Opelika,AL who was a victim of pot labelling fraud. He aasured me that he had the true french tarragon as his pot was labelled Artemisia dracunculus. Well this plant has grown in full son for the last 4 months and has reached a height of about 3/4 of a meter to a meter. Unfortunately it started flowering several weeks ago and it has quite pretty aster flowers. These flowers have 4-5 ray corllas that are about a 2 cm in length and appr. 1 cm wide. Ray corollas are darker orange and many in #. I know this is not French tarragon. My question is it russia tarragon? I can't find a picture anywhere of A. dracunuloides flowering. Does anyone know if this description is Russian tarragon? |
RE: Is it French tarragon?
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| To my knowledge Artemisia dracunculus subsp. dracunculoides Russian Tarragon can grow up to 5'. I have read the flowers of both the Russian Tarragon and Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa the French Tarragon are very small, globe-shaped and yellow, green and white flowers. It sounds to me that you might have Tagetes lucida Mexican Mint Marigold, also known as Texas Tarragon. It is grown in the south in place of French Tarragon. The French Tarragon will not grow down here because of the heat. It is a tender perennial that can reach 12" to 32" in height, but mine generally stay around 20". It can be used as a substitute for any recipe calling for French Tarragon. The yellow flowers are borne in flat-topped cluster, and they are also edible. Questions about tarragon from GardenWeb. You might be able to find some information by reading prior posts. |
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