Meadowsweet

Common Name: Meadowsweet

Latin Name: Fillipendula ulmaria

Family: Rosaceae

An alternative Yorkshire name for Meadowsweet is ‘courtship and matrimony’ which refers to the sweet scented flowers representing courtship, and the sharper scent of the crushed leaves which represent the reality of marriage! The plant has many medicinal and edible uses. It was held as a sacred plant by the druids and has astringent, diaphoretic and diuretic properties. Like the plant willow, the meadowsweet contains salicylic acid, from which the drug aspirin has been synthesised. Its fresh flowers have long been added to home-made wines, mead and preserves.

This tall perennial herb can form dense stands. In the Yorkshire Dales National Park this plant is widespread and commonly found on moderately fertile damp ground in native woodlands, open ground and close to watercourses, to an altitude of 400m and above. Dropwort (Fillipendula vulgaris) is a closely related species and is also found in the National Park. However dropwort is not as widespread as Meadowsweet and is restricted to calcareous grassland.