Filipendula ulmaria Seeds | Meadowsweet
LATIN NAME: Filipendula ulmaria
COMMON NAME: Meadowsweet
Plant Profile
Meadowsweet is a tall meadow perennial of the rose family, one to two metres high, with deeply veined leaves that are dark green above and white-felted beneath, and dense froths of small cream flowers in June and July. It grows in damp ground across Europe and northern Asia, along ditches, wet pastures and riverbanks.
The flower heads smell of almond and honey, and the leaves smell of new-mown hay when crushed. Both scents come from salicylaldehyde and related compounds, and they are the clue to the plant’s chemistry. The stems are reddish and angular, and the plant spreads by a creeping rootstock that soon fills a damp corner.
Science & Biotechnology
Meadowsweet contains salicylates, including salicylic acid and its esters, along with flavonoids and tannins. The genus was once called Spiraea, and it is from that name, not from the willow, that aspirin’s original trade name was coined, although the industrial route to salicylic acid used willow bark.
The salicylate content explains both the traditional use for pain and fever and the main precautions. The amount in a cup of tea is small compared with a drug dose, but it is enough to matter for people with salicylate sensitivity or asthma, and it adds to the effect of anticoagulants.
Uses & Benefits
Dried flower and leaf are infused for fever, joint pain and heartburn, usually two grams to a cup, three times a day. The flowers are also used to flavour mead and country wine, which is where the name comes from.
It should not be given to children with a viral illness, for the same reason aspirin is avoided, and it is contraindicated in pregnancy and in anyone with an aspirin allergy. Because it can irritate the stomach, it is taken after food. The dried flowers keep their scent for a year if stored in the dark, and they are used in herbal sleep pillows. The fresh leaf is also laid on minor cuts in country practice, a use that owes more to the tannins than to the salicylates.
Growing from Seed
Seed needs cold and light. Sow on the surface in autumn, or mix with damp sand and refrigerate for six weeks before spring sowing; germination is slow and uneven.
Plants also spread by rhizome and will form a colony in wet ground, which is either a feature or a nuisance depending on the site. They want sun or part shade and soil that does not dry out. Cut back after flowering to keep the clump tidy, and divide in spring if it outgrows its place. In a small garden, sink a root barrier at planting time, since the colony expands faster than expected. Seed collected in August and sown at once avoids the storage problem that makes spring sowing unreliable.
Our Take
A handsome meadow plant with real chemistry behind its old reputation, best grown where the ground stays damp and the flowers can be picked in July.
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