Ground Elder
How To ID Me And What I’m Good For?
My ID Features:
Flowers
Leaves
Leaves (Back)
Leaves
Ground Elder
Latin Name - Aegopodium podagraria.
Common Names - Ground Elder, Herb Gerard, Bishop's Weed, Goutweed, Gout Wort, Snow-In-The-Mountain, English Masterwort and Wild Masterwort.
Family - Apiaceae.
Season - Spring & summer.
Edible bits - Leaves.
Habitat - Woodland, roadside, to be honest anywhere that’s shaded in both urban and natural settings.
Possible Confusion - Hard to confuse with other species. It’s said to look superficially like young elder trees (from where it gets it’s common name), of which is a completely different species.
Description - A delicious plant brought over by the romans. It’s taste like sweet parsley and in our opinion, far superior. It is fast spreading and a pest to some gardeners. Though we wonder if most know just how delicious it is. It’s been said to be a laxative when in flower, so best to consume beforehand. Most likely introduced to the UK during the roman times. It was used as both a medicinal herb and culinary leaf, much like spinach.
This perennial plant grows to a height of 40-100 cm from underground rhizomes, usually in a large patch-forming network. The stems are erect, hollow, hairless and grooved. The upper leaves are long-stalked (10-20cm), ternate, broad and toothed. When in flower during spring and early summer you will notice numerous flowers are grouped together in an umbrella-shaped flowerhead known as an umbel. The main umbel is further divided into several secondary umbels known as umbellets. Each umbellet is topped with a single, small, five-petaled white flower.
Being a member of the carrot family, please exercise extreme caution when picking this plant. never munch on a hunch!
Medicinal Qualities - It was once used to cure various problems such as gout, swelling and as pain relief.
Harvesting Sustainability - You are hard pressed to destroy local populations as previously mentioned this is considered an invasive plant by gardeners (due to it’s resilience). Cut the plant at the stem level to ensure further growth.
Important note - It is worth noting that ground elder is growing close to the ground. So make sure you pick away from dog walkers!
Never munch on a hunch! Volf takes no responsibility for anything consumed.
Now For The Tasty Bit!
Here Are Our Delicious Recipes Using Ground Elder…
