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Aegopodium podagraria - L.

Ground Elder

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Umbelliferae	Genus	Aegopodium
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Most of Europe, including Britain, to western Asia and Siberia.
Habitat	Hedgerows and cultivated land[17]. A common garden weed[17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 1m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Ground Cover; Hedgerow;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 4, 5, 12, 54, 100]. An unusual tangy flavour[183], the majority of people we give it to do not like it[K] although some reports say that it makes a delicious vegetable[244]. The leaves are best harvested before the plant comes into flower, they can be used in salads, soups, or cooked as a vegetable[9].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antirheumatic; Diuretic; Sedative; Vulnerary.

Ground Elder has a long history of medicinal use and was cultivated as a food crop and medicinal herb in the Middle Ages. The plant was used mainly as a food that could counteract gout, one of the effects of the rich foods eaten by monks, bishops etc at this time. The plant is little used in modern herbalism. All parts of the plant are antirheumatic, diuretic, sedative and vulnerary[9, 13, 53, 54, 61]. An infusion is used in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and disorders of the bladder and intestines[9]. Externally, it is used as a poultice on burns, stings, wounds, painful joints etc[9, 268]. The plant is harvested when it is in flower in late spring to mid-summer and can be used fresh or be dried for later use[9, 238]. A homeopathic remedy is made from the flowering plant[9]. It is used in the treatment of arthritis and rheumatism[9].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

This species makes a good ground-cover for semi-wild situations[200]. Make sure that it has plenty of room since it can be very invasive and is considered to be a weed in many gardens[208].

Cultivation details

Prefers damp shady conditions[12, 13, 200] but succeeds in most soils[200]. Prefers a well-drained soil, succeeding in sun or shade[238]. Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[200]. This species was cultivated in the Middle Ages as a medicinal and food plant[5, 17, 177, 268]. A very invasive plant, spreading freely at the roots[4, 53, 208], though it seldom sets seed in Britain[208]. Once established it can be very difficult to eradicate because any small piece of root left in the ground can regrow[K]. If introducing this plant to your garden, it might be best to restrict the roots by growing the plant in a bottomless container buried in the soil[238]. There is a variegated form of this species that is less invasive and is sometimes grown in the ornamental garden[208]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring. Very easy, divisions can be carried out at almost any time of the year and the divisions can be planted out straight into their permanent positions.

Cultivars

No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[53] De. Bray. L. The Wild Garden. 0
Interesting reading.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Aegopodium podagraria

Dries Fri Apr 18 05:02:58 2003

I have given ground elder with the roots attached to my rabbit on different occassions. THe rabbit is very choosy and lives free in my garden so it can eat what it wants. It ate the whole plant, starting from the roots. Seeing this I myself tried some of the roots, finding them better tasting then just the leaves. This was in early spring when the leaves were just emerging.

Aegopodium podagraria

Correction to my earlier comment Sun Apr 20 18:34:08 2003

What I referred to as 'roots' seem, on closer look, more like underground stems, with little side roots attached to them.

Aegopodium podagraria

Dr. med. veronika Rampold Mon Dec 26 2005

I eat the young leaves, "when they still are bright green, glossy, and not wholly unfolded" (Kocher / Rothmayr, Ernte ohne Saat, 1948). They have a fishy odor when cooked but it goes away while cooking. They develop a brownish color when cooked. My most pleasant "wild spinach" recipe is: take stingy nettle shoots, ground elder leaves of the kind named above and stellaria media shoots at equal parts, cook them as you would do with young spinach, spice with garlic, eat it on a good thick egg-pancake!

Aegopodium podagraria

Dr. Robert! Sat Feb 25 2006

Aegopodium Podagraria is very good and useful herb. It was (the only) food of our great Russian saint Seraphim of Sarov for three years.

Aegopodium podagraria

Margaret Thu Jul 20 2006

We eat the leaves very happily as it is all over our garden and it's a tasty way of getting revenge. When we have to dig it out of beds I have tossed the lot, roots, leaves and flowers to the hens and they seem to consume the lot, which is handy. Excellent ground cover under soft fruit, doesn't seem to reduce the berry crop at all.

Aegopodium podagraria

K Danielsen Tue May 29 2007

Just saute loads of leaves (stems are all right as well) in olive oil and garlic. Perhaps some tomato. Salt. Or use it in any vegetable stew. I have not tried the seeds or flowers. Yet. And, I am experimenting on preserving them (yes! preserving weeds) for the winter (drying, freezing, pickling). As someone said: A "revenge", perhaps? I see it as using a free gift from my minimal-effort garden here on the northwestern Norwegian coast (Molde).

Aegopodium podagraria

Nellie Tue Aug 26 2008

Thanks for all the useful information - I had no idea one could eat it. However, it has taken over my raspberry bed and I cannot seem to get rid of it, roots and all, without losing my few remaining raspberry plants. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Aegopodium podagraria

martin nicklin Tue Sep 30 2008

There is a lovely variegated variety called, not surprisingly, Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum' which is much more garden-worthy although spreads incredibly fast so plant it with caution. It grows in my garden in deep shade and retains its bold variegation. It is presumably also edible although I have not heard of anyone trying it!

Aegopodium podagraria

Hairy Caterpillar Thu Dec 4 2008

We started getting complaints after selling the variegated form. Introducing it to your garden will introduce normal ground elder eventually. So get your recipes ready!

Edible Plants

Aegopodium podagraria

Dominic Fri Dec 26 2008

Dr. Robert's comment on Aegopodium podagraria as the only food of the russian Saint Seraphim of Sarov is interesting. Is there a background or source reference for this. It implies that the root is edible as otherwise St seraphim must have had to do a lot of pickling for the northern winter when the leaves would have withered down.

Aegopodium podagraria

Dan Uhrbom Tue Jun 9 2009

Aegopodium podagraria has for me been 90 % of my food 30 days together with nettle, danderline, fruit and a lot of water. I put it in a blender or a mincer. Enough with fruit it taste good and I want more because I like it. The name of it is Green Smoothie and my body feel so good. Here in Sweden I will try this to the end of oktober. Wintertime it will be dried weeds, fruit and water. I have learned that all neccassary nutrition is in this combination, proteins, minerals, oil/fat, vitamins and enzymes.

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