34. Meadowsweet. Filipendula ulmaria

Meadowsweet. This plant loves damp places and thrives along the river. Its cream-coloured, fragrant flowers are like stands of candy floss along the banks. Along with Watermint and Vervain, Meadowsweet was a sacred herb of the Druids. Legend has it that it is unlucky to bring it into the house - the scent might promote a sleep from which the sleeper might never wake and the plant has associations with death somewhere along the line. Despite this it was Gerard’s favourite strewing herb: “The leaves and floures far excell all other strewing herbes, for to deck up houses, to straw in chambers, halls and banqueting houses...it maketh the heart merrie!”
Meadowsweet is a gentle astringent and one of the best remedies for intestinal problems as it protects and soothes the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, reducing acidity. It is used in the treatment of heartburn, hyperactivity, gastritis and peptic ulceration.
One of its old names ‘Courtship-and-matrimony’ refers to the difference in smell before and after it is crushed, from ‘warm and heady’ to rather ‘clinically sharp’. Another name ‘Meadwort’ shows its slightly honey flavour used in place of honey when supplies were low. Its another herb that made Gerard’s ‘heart merrie’. The language of flowers rather surprisingly says: ‘Uselessness’ - “I look for a lover who is more than something merely decorative”.
INDEX OF FLOWERS
Selfheal Common Vetch Penny Cress
Bittersweet Lesser Celandine Campion
Campion & Cow Parsley White Clover Vervain
Lesser Celandine and Primrose Dandelion Dandelion seeds
Periwinkle Evening Primrose Thrift
Foxglove Fennel Green Alkanet
Gunnera Hawthorn berries Plantain
Indian Balsam Herb Robert Speedwell
Nettle Lady's Smock Cherry Blossom
Scarlet Pimpernel Opium Poppy Quince blossom
Ramsons Meadow Cranesbill Rosebay Willow herb
Meadowsweet Lesser Stitchwort Broad leafed Willow Herb
Greater Stitchwort St. Johns Wort berries Tormentil
Dog Rose Thistle head Valerian head
Red Shank Valerian Sweet Violet Windflower
Yarrow Feverfew Rock Rose

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