Meadowsweet seed Filipendula ulmaria
LATIN NAME: Filipendula ulmaria
COMMON NAME: Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet is the fine, old-fashioned, fragrant herb of the damp meadows and the stream banks, and its clouds of the small, cream-white, fragrant flowers have been a familiar of the old world for a very long time. The upright stems carry the fine, pinnate leaves and the dense, airy heads of the small, five-petalled, cream-white flowers through the early summer, with a sweet, almond-like scent. It has a long and careful record in the old practice, and it is a fine, generous plant for the damp, sunny or partly shaded garden. It is a plant of the moist, open ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Meadowsweet has a well-documented place in the plant science, and the fragrant flowers and the leaves have been studied for a long time for their place in the traditional practice of the old world. The compounds in the flowers and the leaves, which have a very long record of use, have all been looked into, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the medicinal herbs and the stream-bank plants. The fine, pinnate leaves and the airy, fragrant flower heads have also made it a fine garden plant, and it is a regular subject of the studies of the damp-meadow and the traditional herbs.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Meadowsweet is grown for the fragrant flowers and the long record of use. The cream-white, almond-scented flowers and the leaves have a traditional place in the old practice, and the plant is a fine, generous addition to the damp border, the stream bank and the wildlife garden. The airy, fragrant flower heads pull in the bees and the hoverflies, and the plant is a mainstay of the damp, open ground. It has been written about in the botanical and the herbal papers for its long history of use, and it is a generous, easy plant for the moist, sunny or partly shaded spot.
The meadowsweet has a long and careful record in the old practice, and the fragrant flowers and the leaves have been used by the country people of the old world for a very long time. The plant grows naturally in the damp meadows and along the stream banks, and it is a fine, generous addition to the damp border and the wildlife garden. The airy, almond-scented flower heads are one of the sweetest sights of the early summer.
The meadowsweet is a fine, easy plant for the damp corner of the garden, and the airy, almond-scented flower heads are a generous display through the early summer. The plant grows on well in the moist, rich soil.
To grow the meadowsweet from seed, sow the fine seeds on the surface of pots of moist soil and press them in without covering them, since they like the light, then keep the pots in a bright, cool, shaded spot and water gently. The seedlings come up in their own good time and grow on into strong young plants. A moist, sunny or partly shaded spot with the rich soil will bring the airy, fragrant flower heads through the early summer.
Meadowsweet is a perennial herb, growing in damp meadows, ditches and bogs, at the edges of ponds, on river banks and in damp open woodland.
Filipendula is an excellent digestive remedy. It protects and soothes the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, reducing excess acidity and alleviating nausea, and can be used in the treatment of heartburn, hyperacidity, gastritis and peptic ulceration. The anti-inflammatory action of the salicylates in Filipendula makes it effective against rheumatic pain. The astringent tannins make Filipendula a useful remedy in the treatment of diarrhoea in children.
Meadowsweets prefer a good, well-drained, moist garden soil in full sun, although they will succeed in partial shade. Plants eventually form a good-sized clump.
Meadowsweet is best toward the back of a border and against a dark background such as low trees or shrubs.