NAME
Meadow sweet

 

LATIN NAME
Filipendula Ulmaria or Spiraea

 

Bridewort, Meadow queen, Meadow-wort, Pride of the Meadow, Lady of the Meadow, Mountain Spirea

 

Rose family

 

Meadow sweet's flowery top contains methyl salicylate heteroside (monotropitoside) and salicylic aldehyde (used for its anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-blood clotting properties, common to all salicylic medication), as well as flavonoids (quercetol, kaempferol, etc.) responsible for diuretic action associated  with tannins and mineral salts (particularly: calcium, iron and sulphur), and vitamin C.

 

PARTS USED
Flowers, flowery tops and roots.

 

ORIGIN
Europe

 

DESCRIPTION
Meadow sweet is a hardy villous perennial herbaceous crop, of upright habit, leafed, has repent rhizome and measures between 50 cm and 1.5 m. It has solid and stiff standards, which are thin and strong and often with red streaks, that carry large, leaves of varying size, dark green on top and with a silvery under surface. The creamy white flowers, are small and extremely numerous. They form bunches and have a sweet, pervasive scent.
Its presence at high altitude and its abundance in meadows, hedges and alongside running water give it its names Meadow sweet and Mountain Spirea. It grows in moist habitats of up to 1,800m above sea level, and is very common in Europe (apart from in the Mediterranean area), in Western Asia and in North America.

 

It from  oxidised salicylic aldehyde (major component of Meadow Sweet) that salicylic acid was discovered in 1838, which in turn lead to the discovery in 1853 of acetylsalicylic acid. This became one of the most famous medicines in use in the world over for more than a century, known as aspirin; a name which incidentally stems from the Latin name of Meadow sweet: spiraea.

 

USES
The flowery tops contain salicylic acid. This plant is "nature's aspirin", and is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, soothing action for joint pain.