Last week I had the pleasure of harvesting meadowsweet on one of the few sunny days so far this summer so I thought it would be an opportune moment to share some information and thoughts on this most useful of herbs.
Common name: Meadowsweet. Also Queen of the Meadow, Brideswort, Meadwort.
Latin: Filipendula ulmaria.
Family: Rosaceae – Rose family.
Botanical features: A perennial herb that enjoys damp conditions and grows abundantly throughout most of the UK in meadows, ditches, road or stream-sides. It has reddish brown stems growing up to 1.5 metres high and deep green pinnate leaves that are paler on the underside. It bears creamy puffs of tiny, fragrant flowers that bloom between May and August, though I personally have never seen them before mid June.
Key Constituents: Volatile oils, methylsalicylate, tannins, mucilage, flavonoids, phenolic glycosides.
Actions: Anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, antacid, stomachic, astringent, diuretic, diaphoretic, carminative, anti-emetic.
Energetics: Cooling and drying.
The name meadowsweet is said to come, not from the fact that it grows in meadows as one would expect, but from its early use to flavour mead, evolving from Middle English Medewurte, as it appears in Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale.
This is a herb that has had its place through all the ages of European history. Evidence of meadowsweet has been found in several Bronze Age burial sites suggesting the value placed on it even many centuries BCE. The Druids are said to have considered it one of their most sacred herbs for use in ritual and medicine and it was a favourite of medieval herbalists too, being regularly used by folk healers and monastic communities alike. It was prized at this time as a strewing herb, one that was used to cover floors in medieval homes and churches to disguise unpleasant smells, reduce fleas and lice and help counter infections.
In Irish mythology, Cú Chulainn, the warlike hero of the Ulster Cycle, is said to have used meadowsweet baths to calm his rages and fevers and in Wales, the beauteous but adulterous Blodeuwedd, was made by two magicians from the flowers of oak, broom and meadowsweet.
It is perhaps most famous for its role in the development of aspirin however, a drug named after its previous Latin name, Spiraea ulmaria. In the mid nineteenth century salicylic acid was isolated from meadowsweet which lead to the later creation of aspirin.
Within the herbal world meadowsweet is very much considered a specific for the digestive system but it had many other uses in traditional medicine that have now mostly fallen by the wayside. Just like Cú Chulainn, people commonly used it as a treatment for fevers where it works through a gentle diaphoresis as well through the effects of salicylic acid in reducing inflammation and heat. It was used to treat hot conditions in other ways too; cooling sunburn, as a wash for inflamed eyes, as a compress for swollen, arthritic joints, to give relief from headaches and for calming an irritated cough. It is interesting that even before the discovery of salicylic acid many people used meadowsweet for conditions that they may take aspirin for today.
The smell is very distinctive and I have heard it compared to everything from deep heat to marzipan to pickled cucumber! To me it smells sweetly fragrant with an edge of the disinfectant TCP that I remember from childhood. Interestingly I recently found out that TCP contains salicylates so perhaps there is method in my madness after all!
In fact, meadowsweet is sometimes referred to as ‘herbal aspirin,’ a name which I find both inaccurate and vaguely insulting to this multi-talented meadow queen! It is noted, at least in the herbal community, that meadowsweet is a fine example of how nature so often buffers chemicals that can do damage with others that soothe and heal. So where as aspirin can increase the chances of indigestion, GI bleeds and ulcers, meadowsweet can be used to heal these exact same conditions.
Despite its cooling and drying nature, meadowsweet can be considered a normaliser for the digestion in the majority of people as it can help to balance both high and low stomach acid. This is interesting as it is increasingly acknowledged that symptoms of heartburn and indigestion can be caused by both hyper and hypo acidity in the stomach. As an astringent it helps to tone the stomach and the mucus membranes and it also increases their rate of cell renewal allowing irritated areas to heal quicker.
Due to its volatile oil content it has a carminative action and it also has some bitterness which can help stimulate digestion, increase bile flow and therefore relieve congestion in the liver. The astringency is balanced somewhat by this ability to stimulate and move so that it can still be effective for those with under active digestions. One herbal friend of mine uses it for everyone with gut problems and just moderates the actions with other herbs specific for the individual.
This effect on the mucus membranes can also be seen in the urinary system where it has been employed to treat cystitis through it’s healing, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. It is also considered mildly immunomodulating and a useful diuretic.
You can use it as a tea, preferably taken hot for fevers to help stimulate the diaphoretic action and slightly cooler for digestive discomforts. It is gentle enough for use with children in whom it has been found effective in treating diarrhoea. Tincture is the way I most commonly use it and it is particularly nice made from fresh flowers in 25% alcohol.
A compress made from a flannel soaked in hot meadowsweet tea is an old fashioned remedy for arthritis and gout.
The general wisdom is to avoid this herb with people who are sensitive to salicylates or if they are taking warfarin as there is the potential of an additive effect.
“How lovely she is, queen of the springs and of the running brooks, standing there in the damp shady places with her big clouds of flowers; little white flowers that make up big feathery tufts and give off a strong sweet perfume.”
Maurice Messegue
It can also be used to make a cordial, same as Elderflower recipes. I made it last year and it was so lovely to have it in the Winter. Great for cold and flu symptoms.
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That sounds lovely.
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Lovely post Lucinda. Meadowsweet doesn’t grow wild around here. It must be so beautiful to come across large stands of it growing wild. I have finally got a nice size patch established in the garden and made my first batch of tincture this year. Yeah!!!
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Yes it is lovely when you see it all growing up together. There is a lot by the side of the train tracks near my home so I get to gaze out of the window at it whenever I go into town. Congratulations on your first tincture! There is something so special about growing things in your own garden too isn’t there.
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I did see it last week, but didn’t know which plant it was. I thought it was a garden plant, but it’s growing along pastures and ditches.Thanks for sharing Lucinda.
XXX
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Hi Rita,
I’m glad you are now acquainted with this wonderful plant. You can always tell Meadowsweet by the distinctive smell! I hope you enjoy getting to know her better.
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Hi Lucinda,
I was so hoping that you would write something about Queen of the Meadow….of all the wild flowers, if I had to choose a favourite it would be her. As I walk the lanes with Nella the field edges are full of her frothy blooms, like white candy floss. I adore her scent, along with Elder 🙂
I am intolerant of aspirin, so it would appear she is not for me.
I grow her in the garden alongside her cousin, Queen of the Prairie.
The pink and white blooms look lovely together 🙂
Thank you for the history of the plant…….sharing your knowledge is a most generous thing.
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HI Cheryl,
I imagine they look beautiful together, Queen of the Meadow and Queen of the Prairie as planted by the Queen of the Garden!
They do look like candy floss don’t they, especially the pink one. I used to love candy flos as a child, though I imagine it would make me sick now! Best stick to meadowsweet. 🙂
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I’ve never heard of Meadowsweet. After reading this I wish it grew around here. Thanks for the introduction and wonderful photos.
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Hi Lisa,
Yes. I don’t think it is native to the US, just grown in gardens or herb farms.
I am sure there are many plants where you live that I would wish to have here too though!
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I never knew that about it being named for mead! Mine is blooming as we speak in the garden and looks so lovely in the high sun. I think it smells of watermelon myself 🙂
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Watermelon… interesting. I will go and smell my tincture right now and see if I can get what you mean!
Funnily enough I have never heard two people describe it alike. xx
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Ah, you’re making me wish it grew around here.
Michael
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It is a good one! You guys have many interesting plants that we don’t have here. It is nice that there is so much crossover for the most part though!
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I never knew the name of this before, fantastic article. I dont know if its a wider trend but it appears that the local councils to us are leaving the verges untrimmed this year and they appear to be full of this. Beautiful!
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That’s great to hear. I think councils are starting to encourage more wildflowers now which is such a positive step for wildlife and for us too of course.
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Indeed a lovely herb. Doing well in my front garden this year –
Goethean study of it back in ’96 revealed huge root system below ground transforming the soil. Chris Hedley summed it up – for a boggy stomach
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I’m sure the Goethean study was fascinating, I’d love to hear more about it sometime.
‘Boggy stomach’ is a nice description. 🙂
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love the history of the plant with the basis on evidence based scientific reports it is refreshing to learn some of the romance about it.
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We have meadowsweet still flowering in late December here in our garden in Cornwall.
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Wow that is late, it has been such a mild autumn!
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I was wondering, if you knew of a meadowsweet look alike that is harmful, or doesn’t have the same healing qualities as meadowsweet. I swear I have one in my back yard looks, smells and even attracts bees As I’ve read it does. but I live in a very dry and sandy area in Canada.
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Without seeing pictures it is really hard to say. There is a pink version native to the USA which grows in drier conditions I believe. I would consult some local id books from your library or try and find a local foraging or plant group to help you id.
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Spiraea salicifolia is a pink variation here in the US. What’s your opinion of whether the varieties are analogous?
Link to a photo of salicifolia http://www.rogerstreesandshrubs.com/MediaPath/D4AB1DE5BD604CD1ADD2EF5E0814EE35.jpg
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Spiraea salicifolia has been used medicinally but I have never grown it or tried it myself. It might be worth asking an American herbalist who has worked with it what their experience is. Sorry I can’t be more help!
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Have’nt heard of this beautyfull flowering plant since coming for holiday in camelford cornwall! Very surprised in my daughters home sweet smelling fragrance hit me soon as I walked though her home, thought she oil burners on! it was (Meadowsweet)…
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Lovely!
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Could I get it other then camelford cornwall. Can I get parket seeds
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Yes it grows quite commonly, usually in damp places or by water. You can gets seeds from here:
http://www.edenproject.com/shop/Meadow-Sweet-12567.aspx
Or small plants from here:
http://www.herbalhaven.com/shop/product-details/61/meadowsweet
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Banks of the R Avon in Rugby / Leamington areas of Warwickshire are colonised with Meadowsweet because it is not dreaded. Very pretty but must be limited for grazing.
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Years ago we adopted a German Shepherd with huge pressure point sores on her hips, we spent hundreds of pounds trying to heal them, nothing worked. Until I read a book called Natural Medicine by Barbara Griggs. Under Ulcers it said to pick a pint of the first three leaves of Meadow sweet, pour over boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, strain, cool and apply. This we did and to our amazement the ulcers healed from the outside in, the area was left with a thick skin that then grew hair.
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Wonderful! Thanks for sharing this story.
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The wine is lovely, yes I also et the trace of TCP Jeff
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[…] A beautiful post on meadowsweet: https://whisperingearth.co.uk/2012/07/06/meadowsweet-queen-of-the-meadow-queen-of-the-ditch/ […]
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[…] And a lovely piece on meadowsweet here with herbal and mythical properties https://whisperingearth.co.uk/2012/07/06/meadowsweet-queen-of-the-meadow-queen-of-the-ditch/ […]
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[…] Whispering Earth https://whisperingearth.co.uk/2012/07/06/meadowsweet-queen-of-the-meadow-queen-of-the-ditch/ […]
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