Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), Higher Marsh
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), Higher Marsh by Maigheach-gheal as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), Higher Marsh
Image: © Maigheach-gheal Taken: 30 Jun 2009
The tiny creamy flowers are sweetly scented from early summer and the leaves are also subtly fragrant. Naturally found in boggy areas or damp woodland, ditches and hedgerows. Meadowsweet is also known as Queen of the Meadow. It contains salicylic acid from which aspirin was first derived. Nowadays aspirin is produced synthetically but meadowsweet is still taken as an infusion for rheumatic and arthritic complaints and as a pleasant and gentle sedative. A tea made flowers of meadowsweet and elder is good to take at the onset of a cold or feverish condition, so it is worth drying the flowers for winter use. The flowers and leaves can be used in salads and soups. Folklore claims that where meadowsweet grows there are no snakes, which can also mean, therefore, that there is no evil.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
50.982017
Longitude
-2.383005