What is meadowsweet?<\/h2>
Sweet by name and nature, you\u2019ll no doubt smell fully edible Filipendula ulmaria<\/em> before you encounter it in all its frothy-flowered, almond scented glory, growing tall along the side of riverbanks, in ditches or in damp meadows. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p> A truly generous plant, it also provides food for bees<\/a>, hoverflies<\/a>, ladybirds<\/a> and several species of moth<\/a> caterpillar<\/a>.<\/p> It\u2019s not difficult to spot, growing to an average height and width of around 1m, a bushy perennial of doubly serrated, deeply veined, dark green leaves \u2013 arranged in 5 pairs of leaflets with a 3-lobed leaflet at the tip \u2013 with clusters of creamy flowers borne on erect stems above, not unlike a stick of candy floss. In a breeze, the leaves can also appear pale, as the silver undersides are revealed.<\/p> Wander down by a river or near wet ground such as a marsh, fen or meadow where water levels tend to rise and fall between June and September and you\u2019re pretty like to make the acquaintance of meadowsweet. <\/p> A traditional medicinal, culinary, and ritual herb, half the fun of harnessing its fragrant potency is wading through a gathering of long grass, tall stems and creamy blooms to harvest it. <\/p> Although all parts of the plant can be harvested, it is the flowers that should occupy the lion\u2019s share of the modern-day foraging basket, lending their musky-sweet essence to a range of drinks, desserts, stewed fruits, jams, vinegars, and condiments \u2013 a favourite being the flavouring of panna cotta, wine or beer. Check out our recipe for bilberry galette with meadowsweet dust<\/a>.<\/p> Indeed, the word meadow sweet hails from the Anglo Saxon meodu-swete<\/em> meaning \u2018mead sweetener\u2019, the fact that it is a sweet-smelling inhabitant of meadows being something of a happy homonym.<\/p> This distinctive smell ushers from meadowsweet\u2019s high content of antiseptic salicylic acid, similarly found in wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens<\/em>) and birch trees (Betula<\/em> spp.), and a key determinant in its traditional use as an anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, pain-relieving, and infection-fighting medicinal herb.<\/p> Those who inhale the plant\u2019s scent are also said to be granted the gift of second sight and the power to speak with fairies. <\/p> Flowers are best picked when most are in full bloom, around July, snipping off the flower stems so the blooms can be easily transported home. <\/p> Kept in an airtight bag or container in the fridge they can be kept for about a week. Or dehydrate by hanging stalks upside down in a warm, dry place. The dried flowers can then be used to make an infusion with which to flavour other culinary dishes.<\/p> In addition to medwort, other common names for meadowsweet include queen of the meadow, and bridewort, the latter referring to the use of flowers and leaves as a fragrant strewing herb at weddings and at festivals as well as in homes. <\/p> A more cynical Yorkshire name for it is courtship and matrimony, alluding to the seductive sweetness of the flowers versus the less pleasant antiseptic smell of the leaves when crushed.<\/p> According to Mrs M. Grieve\u2019s A Modern Herbal<\/em> (1931), meadowsweet is one of 50 ingredients in the drink \u2018Save\u2019, which was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer\u2019s \u2018The Knight\u2019s Tale\u2019 (1387\u20131400) \u2013 being known then as \u2018medwort\u2019. <\/p> Check out our guides to elder<\/a>, nettles<\/a>, yarrow<\/a> and unusual medicinal plants found across Britain<\/a>. <\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n More than just a pretty flower! Discover its history as a natural pain reliever and the sweet secret it holds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":38223,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy.jpg",2119,1415,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy-1536x1026.jpg",1536,1026,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet-how-to-identify-and-use-this-natural-remedy-2048x1368.jpg",2048,1368,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"More than just a pretty flower! Discover its history as a natural pain reliever and the sweet secret it holds.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/38222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What does meadowsweet look like?<\/h2>
Where does meadowsweet grow?<\/h2>
What is meadowsweet good for?<\/h2>
![\"meadow](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/07\/meadowsweet_2.jpg\")
How is meadowsweet used as a medicine?<\/h2>
How to harvest meadowsweet<\/h2>
What are the common names for meadowsweet?<\/h2>
Meadowsweet in literature<\/h2>
Looking for more botanical inspiration?<\/h3>
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