Meadowsweet

Filipendula ulmaria

Filipendula ulmaria is most commonly known as Meadowsweet or Mead wort. It is a perennial herb in the family of Rosaceae. It is native throughout a big chunk of Europe and Western Asia, introduced and naturalised in North America, in damp meadows. Meadowsweet is sometimes referred to as Queen of the Meadow, Pride of the Meadow, Meadow-Wort, Meadow Queen, Lady of the Meadow, Dollof, Meadsweet or Bridewort.

Appearance

The stem of Meadowsweets grow to approximetly 1-2 meters or 3.3-6.6 ft tall, straight and furrowed. The stem is reddish, in some cases purple. The leaves of Meadowsweets are dark green on the upper side of the leaf, whilst whitish and downy on the other side, sparsely spaced and interruptedly pinnate. The Meadowsweets have some larger leaflets to small intermediate leafs. The leaves are big, about 4-8 cm long and 3-5 lobbed.

Meadowsweets have delicate creamy-white flowers densely clustered together in irregularly branched cymes with a very strong, sweet scent to it. Meadowsweets flower from the early summers to the early autumns. They are often visiyed by a wide variety of insects, particularly Musca flies.

Filipendula ulmaria is a perennial herb that grows to approximetly 70 cm tall. The delicate, creamy-white flowers are small and numerous, they show 5 sepals and 5 petals with 7-20 stamens.

Meadowsweet leaves are commonly galled by the fungus Triphragmium ulmariae, a bright orange-rust fungus that causes swellings and distortions to appear on the stalk and/or midrib.

Habitat

Meadowsweet is commonly found in damp, dominant areas in fens and wet wood.

Herbal and pharmacological

Meadowsweet is commonly eaten,.as the whole herb posesses a pleasent taste, the green parts having a aromatic character similar to flowers. This aromatic character leads to Meadowsweet being a stewing verb, strewn on floors to give the room a wonderful aroma. Meadowsweet is sometimes used to beer, wine, many vinegars and more. The flowers can be added to stewed fruit and jams. The Meadowsweet gives the fruits or jams a subtle almond flavour. It has many medicinal properties. The whole plant is a traditional remedy for an acidic stomach. If fresh, the root is commonly used in negligible quantities homeopathic preparations. If dried, the plant is often used in potpouri. It is frequently used as a spice in Scandinavian varietes of mead.

The chemical makeup of Meadowsweet consists of salicylic acid, flavone glycosides, essential oils and tannins.

Meadowsweet contains the chemicals used to produce aspirin. A tiny chunk of the root, when peeled and crushed smells like Germolene. When chewed it acts as a relatively good natural remedy for releiving headaches. A natural black dye can be produced from the roots of it by using a copper mordant.

History and etymology

White-flowered Meadowsweet has been found with the remains of cremated people, at least three and one animal in a bronze age cairn at Fan Foel, Carmarthenshire. Fins like these have been found inside a beaker from Ashgrove, Fife, and a vessel from North mains, Strathallan. These could possibly indicate mead based on honey or ale flavoured with it, but it might suggest the plant placed on the grave as a scented flower.

The name ulmaria means "emlike" , possibly in reference to it's individual leaves that resemble those of the elm. Like slippery elm bark, the plant contains salicylic acid, which had been long used as a painkiller. This is possibly the reason for the name. The generic name Filipendula, comes from filum. Filum meaning thread, and pendulus means hanging. This is said to describe the root tubers that characteristically hang from the genus, on fibrous roots.

Sources

Wikipedia, Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria

Whispering earth, Meadowsweet