Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria
Family: Rosaceae · Also called Queen of the Meadow, Bridewort, Mead Wort, Ulmaria ulmaria, Thecanisia ulmaria, Spiraea ulmaria
Green & Fresh · Summer bloomer
Meadowsweet is the wildflower that gave us aspirin. Its frothy, cream-colored flower heads foam along riverbanks and wet meadows throughout summer, filling the air with a distinctive sweet almond fragrance. The connection between this humble wildflower and one of the world's most important medicines is one of botany's great stories.
peace, happiness, healing
In the Victorian language of flowers, meadowsweet means “Uselessness (Victorian) / Healing (modern)”. Meadowsweet was one of the three most sacred herbs of the Druids. Queen Elizabeth I particularly loved it as a strewing herb for floors. Most importantly, the salicylic acid in meadowsweet was the basis for aspirin, 'a-spirin' literally means 'from Spiraea' (the plant's former genus name).
Did You Know?
Aspirin's name comes from meadowsweet, 'a' for acetyl and 'spirin' from Spiraea, the plant's old genus name. Felix Hoffmann synthesized aspirin at Bayer in 1897, but the healing properties of meadowsweet had been used in folk medicine for millennia.
Damp meadows, stream banks, and wet woodland margins across temperate Eurasia
Meadowsweet is native to Europe, Western Asia. It naturally grows in damp meadows, stream banks, and wet woodland margins across temperate eurasia.
Scent Profile
“A complex, almond-honey sweetness with fresh hay and green notes, medicinal yet beautiful, the scent that named aspirin.”
Quick Reference
- Scientific NameFilipendula ulmaria
- FamilyRosaceae
- Native ToEurope, Western Asia
- Bloom SeasonSummer
- LifespanPerennial
Cultural Significance
Meadowsweet was one of the three most sacred herbs of the Druids. Queen Elizabeth I particularly loved it as a strewing herb for floors. Most importantly, the salicylic acid in meadowsweet was the basis for aspirin, 'a-spirin' literally means 'from Spiraea' (the plant's former genus name).