Description
OSHA (Ligusticum porteri) has other names, including Porter's lovage, Porter's licorice-root, lovage, wild lovage, bear root. OSHA has parsley-like leaves and double umbels of white flowers. The bases of the leaves where they attach to the root crowns have a reddish tint, which is unique, and the roots are fibrous, with a dark, chocolate-brown, wrinkled outer skin. When this skin is removed, the inner root tissue is fibrous and yellowish-white. OSHA plants form large clumps over time, and can grow to be very large. In areas of New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, OSHA can reach heights of 6 to 7 feet and produce circular colonies with dozens of root crowns growing from a central root mass.