Real meadowsweet
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Meadowsweet ( Filipendula ulmaria ) |
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| Filipendula ulmaria | ||||||||||||
| ( L. ) Maxim. |
The Meadowsweet ( Filipendula ulmaria ) is a plant that the family of the rose family belongs (Rosaceae). It is indigenous to almost all of Europe and can be found on nutrient-rich wet and wet meadows , on ditches and brook banks as well as in alder-ash forests . At rarely mowed and nutrient-rich water margin, the Meadowsweet is an indicator plant of Mädesüß- Hochstaudenfluren (Filipendulion).
Origin of name
There are several possible explanations for the German term “meadowsweet”. The most frequently cited explanation indicates that meadowsweet was previously used to sweeten and flavor wine and especially mead . The name therefore means "mead sweetness" - although this mead does not require a further sweetener, but due to the rather flat taste of the wine, it has an aroma to which the meadowsweet may have contributed. Meadowsweet is, however, also a “mowing sweetness”, because after it has been scavenged, the withering leaves and stems give off a sweet smell. Mede is also an ancient term for grassland on which meadowsweet actually grows if the soil is sufficiently moist. For example, the English name meadow sweet speaks for this origin , while the Norwegian and English names "mjødurt" and "mead wort" (both: mead) again indicate mead sweetness. In any case, the name cannot be derived from a “sweet girl”.
In the vernacular , the Meadowsweet carries a number of other names. In some regions it is also called "Rüsterstaude" because of its elm-like leaves and "Bacholde" because its flowers are reminiscent of those of the elder . "Wiesenkönigin" (also the French name Reine-des-prés ) alludes to the conspicuous size of the perennial and "Feather Bush" or "Spierstrauch" (also "Big Spear") to the shape of the inflorescence. In the northern Black Forest, the perennial is known as "goat rib".
The vernacular has also found less poetic names for the attractive plant. In some regions it is also known as “stop ass” because of its use in diarrheal diseases . Another old name for the real meadowsweet is "forest beard".
description
Appearance and leaf
The real meadowsweet is a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches stature heights between 50 and 150, sometimes 200 centimeters. The stems are reddish and only branch out in the upper part.
The leaves are pinnate dark green and heavily veined, with white flowers on the underside. The leaflets of the leaves are reminiscent of the leaves of the elm , which is also suggested by the scientific name " ulmaria ". When rubbed, they release a smell of salicylaldehyde (like rheumatic ointment). Like the bark of willow trees , Filipendula ulmaria, once called Spiraea ulmaria , also contains salicylic acid . The drug " Aspirin " got its name from the Spiraea . The leaves have the highest known stomata density of 1300 per square millimeter.
Inflorescence and flower
The flowering period extends in Germany from June to July, in Central Europe from June to August. The funnel-shaped inflorescences of the real meadowsweet, which contain many individual flowers and bloom in batches, are striking .
The flowers give off an intense, honey- to almond-like odor, especially in the evening. There are plant specimens with male and hermaphrodite flowers. The relatively small flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five sepals are rarely longer than 1 millimeter. The five creamy to yellowish-white petals are up to 5 millimeters long. The numerous stamens consist of white stamens and yellow anthers . The six to ten free carpels are egg-shaped and green. The white pen terminate in rounded, yellow scars .
Fruit and seeds
Each flower usually develops six to eight slightly twisted nuts that stand together and give the impression of a single fruit in their entirety . The inconspicuous, two-seeded, thin-walled, air-containing, bellow-like nuts that do not open when ripe are crescent-shaped with a length of up to 3 millimeters. Due to this specific fruit shape, the real meadowsweet can be easily distinguished from the small meadowsweet ( Filipendula vulgaris ), in which the nuts have a straight shape. As they ripen, the color of the nuts changes from green to brown. In October the nuts are ripe, have a flat shape and a light brown, hard pericarp. The seeds are only 1 millimeter long in the nuts.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 14, 16 or 24.
ecology
The real meadowsweet is a hemicryptophyte and stem plant.
From an ecological point of view, these are “pollen disc flowers” that have an intense almond to honey scent; however, when rubbed, they smell of salicylic acid . By erecting, the ripe stamens gradually release the stigma . With its abundant supply of pollen and the sweet scent of flowers, the real meadowsweet attracts bees , pollen-eating flies and hover flies in particular . Among the pollinating insects but also includes beetles.
With the ripening process, the air inclusion in the nuts increases. The associated weight loss contributes to the fact that the nuts can be carried away better by the wind (so-called anemochory ). The real meadowsweet is one of the " winter cows ", because the ripe nuts are only gradually detached from the fruit base and spread out by the wind ( semachory ). Occasionally, in spring, you can still find nuts that have remained on the dried-up flower branches.
The real meadowsweet, however, also uses other mechanisms of propagation in order to spread its seeds as far as possible. The nuts of the meadowsweet, which also grows in the bank area of waters, are buoyant due to the high air inclusion and, if they fall into the water, are carried away by it ( nautochory ). However, the nuts are also part of the clinging group ( epichory ), because they easily stick to animal skins and are thus spread.
The true meadowsweet is attacked by the rust fungus Triphragmium ulmariae .
Occurrence and socialization
Filipendula ulmaria is also common in northern and central Asia. Real meadowsweet can be found in large parts of Europe with the exception of the southern Mediterranean region . In eastern North America it is an undesirable neophyte and, like ours, a pasture weed. Since it can spread vegetatively, namely underground clonally, as well as generatively through its fruits, on cultivated land and is avoided by grazing cattle, it should be viewed and controlled as a pest plant in many places - in North America as neophytic, here as native.
In Central Asia, the distribution area borders on that of the pink meadowsweet , which can be found from Siberia to Kamchatka and grows there in areas rich in fog and rain. The Kamchatka meadowsweet also grows on the Kamchatka Peninsula , which is the largest meadowsweet species with a height increase of up to three meters and is also widespread in northern Japan .
In Germany, the real meadowsweet rises in the Alps to an altitude of 1360 meters, in the Black Forest even up to 1420 meters. In the Allgäu Alps it occurs up to an altitude of 1220 meters in the lake swamp near Bach in Tyrol.
Meadowsweet grows on soak or damp, nutrient-rich, weakly to moderately acidic, sandy or pure loam and clay soils or swamp humus soils, and also on peat . It is a light to partial shade plant.
Originally, the real meadowsweet was mainly found in alder and ash forests , which used to characterize the stream and river meadows. Since these forest communities are only present in fragments in Central Europe today, the real meadowsweet grows "as a substitute" along water ditches and streams and is also often found on wet meadows that are seldom mowed (at most in a single channel).
In terms of plant sociology , the real meadowsweet is the characteristic of the Filipendulion (meadowsweet corridors), but also occurs in other Molinietalia societies ( wet meadows , wet tall herbaceous meadows ), also in Convolvuletalia societies (nitrophytic riparian herbaceous societies in wet locations) and in Alno-Ulmion ( hardwood forests ). There are considerations that tall herbaceous communities such as meadowsweet corridors could be separated from the agricultural meadows (Molinio-Arrhenatheretea) in terms of plant sociology and viewed as a class of their own.
The flowers rich vegetation is typically selected from the eponymous meadowsweet and species as Wasserdost ( Eupatorium cannabinum ), common valerian ( Valeriana officinalis ), Marsh Woundwort ( Stachys palustris ), purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria ), Gilbweiderich ( Lysimachia vulgaris ), stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica ,) Marsh horsetail ( Equisetum palustre ) and reed grass ( Phalaris arundinacea ) formed. In addition, common comfrey ( Symphytum officinale ), swamp cranesbill ( Geranium palustre ), shaggy willowherb ( Epilobium hirsutum ) and occasionally the swamp iris ( Iris pseudacorus ) belong to the accompanying flora.
Systematics
The first publication took place in 1753 under the name ( Basionym ) Spiraea ulmaria by L. The new combination to Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim. was founded in 1879 by Maxim. in Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada , 6, p. 251. Another synonym for Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim. is Ulmaria pentapetala Gilib.
In Europe, two subspecies can be distinguished:
- Filipendula ulmaria subsp. ulmaria (Syn .: Filipendula denudata (J.Presl & C.Presl) Fritsch , Filipendula subdenudata Fritsch , Spiraea denudata J.Presl & C.Presl , Spiraea glauca Schultz , Spiraea odorata Gray nom. illeg., Spiraea palustris Salisb. nom. illeg., Spiraea quinqueloba (Baumg.) Spreng. , Spiraea unguiculata Dulac nom. illeg., Thecanisia discolor (WDJKoch) Raf. , Ulmaria denudata (J.Presl & C.Presl) Opiz , Ulmaria obtusiloba Opiz , Ulmaria palustris Moench , Ulmaria spiraea-ulmaria Hill , Filipendula ulmaria subsp. denudata (J.Presl & C.Presl) Hayek , Filipendula ulmaria subsp. nivea (Wallr.) Hayek , Spiraea ulmaria subsp. denudata (J.Presl & C.Presl) Schübler & Martens , Spiraea ulmaria subsp. Discolor (WDJKoch) Arcang. ): It is widespread in Europe.
- Filipendula ulmaria subsp. picbaueri (Podp.) Smejkal (Syn .: Filipendula stepposa Juz. ): This subspecies occurs in Europe in Russia, Belarus and Romania and has outposts in Slovakia, southern Moravia and Lower Austria (Marchtal). It differs in the stem, which is densely short-haired in the upper part, the felty branches of the inflorescence and the fruit, which is roughly hairy at least at the tip. It grows on wet meadow meadows that dry out strongly in summer, especially in the floodplain of Agrostietalia stoloniferae.
Ingredients and use
Meadowsweet contains, among other things, salicylates , flavonoids , tannic acids , essential oil and citric acid , as well as a weakly toxic glycoside , which can cause headaches in high doses .
Use in the kitchen
You can make an aromatic tea from the flowers; the root and the shoots are considered edible.
All parts of the plant, especially the flowers, are suitable for flavoring sweet and fruit dishes as well as drinks, which they give a sweetish-tart taste. In the German cuisine is however rarely used meadowsweet more. Meadowsweet is more commonly used in French and Brussels and Wallonia cuisines . One takes advantage of the fact that flowers immersed in liquid release their flavors well into the liquid. Unwhipped cream takes on the honey-almond-like taste when the flowers have been allowed to soak in it overnight. Meadowsweet sorbet is occasionally served as an intermediate course or at the end of a meal, as the plant is supposed to counteract heartburn. Even beer , mead and wine used to be flavored with the plant.
Use as a scented plant
Because of the sweet and tart scent, which many people find pleasant, meadowsweet was once a popular herb . In the morning the wooden floor was sprinkled with various herbs and the leaves and stems were swept up again when they had dried up in the evening and no longer gave off their scent. However, it was also common to use meadowsweet litter for days or weeks, as it exudes its scent for a very long time.
In England, meadowsweet scented potpourris is added to give it a slightly rounder note. It was the preferred aromatic plant of Queen Elizabeth I of England . However, not everyone appreciates the fragrance equally. Some people find the smell too intrusive, which is what gave the plant the popular name " meadow cockroach ".
Use in herbal medicine
Meadowsweet is an old medicinal plant, but in antiquity and the Middle Ages it was hardly accessible from written sources. Only the Circa instans (mid-12th century) from the school of Salerno describes the plant in detail. Adam Lonitzer wrote in his herbal book : This herb root is good for the stone, as well as for those who urinate with difficulty and have loin addiction. The powder of the root is used by those who have a cold stomach and cannot digest well. Against asthma, take the powder and gentian in the same weight and use it in food, it will undoubtedly help.
Meadowsweet is interesting in terms of medical history because for a long time salicylaldehyde was obtained from its flower buds , an anti-inflammatory agent that is now sold in a modified form as synthetically produced acetylsalicylic acid . The Meadowsweet that one time botanically nor the Spier shrubs ( Spiraea zuordnete) has, for the development of the brand name Aspirin helped. While the “A” stands for acetyl, “spirin” is derived from the term “spireaic acid”.
Official designation is the Meadowsweet ( Filipendulae ulmariae herba ), which under that name in the European Pharmacopoeia is a monograph (Ph. Eur.) And consists of the flowering stem tips. According to Ph. Eur., A content of at least 1 ml of substances that are volatile in steam (formed by acid hydrolysis from phenol glycosides) per kg of drug is required. Furthermore, the German Medicines Codex monographs meadowsweet flowers with the older name of the drug Spiraeae flos.
Important active ingredients are: Penol glycosides such as Monotropidin and Spiraein , from which small quantities of essential oil with salicylaldehyde and methyl salicylate are formed when dried ; Flavonoids such as spiraeoside and tannins ( ellagitannins ).
Medicinal uses: Meadowsweet flowers have sweat and diuretic properties. However, the content of salicylic acid compounds, which could act similarly to acetylsalicylic acid, is low, so that an anti-inflammatory effect is doubted. So the drug is only recommended for sweat cures as it is used to support the onset of colds . The use in rheumatic diseases and gout to increase the amount of urine is known in folk medicine .
The flowers and young leaves of meadowsweet are made into tea , which is said to have good diuretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic effects. However, as the doses of the substances contained in the plant, as with many other herbal remedies, vary greatly depending on the site conditions, it is usually recommended to get the plant components from the pharmacy . Meadowsweet is said to curb the excessive production of stomach acid and thus counteract heartburn.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC ) has published two monographs on meadowsweet. One deals with the flowers (Filipendulae ulmariae flos), the other the above-ground plant (Filipendulae ulmariae herba). It confirms the traditional indications for various preparations for both drugs , for example, use for colds and for the relief of mild joint problems.
Cultural and historical features
Meadowsweet was a type of plant used by Celtic druids . The Celts used them u. a. as a dye for fabrics. But even later it was valued primarily for its scent. Beekeepers rubbed their new beehives with the honey-scented herb so that the bees would accept them. Meadowsweet is still often added to mead today to give it a more pleasant taste. In early modern England, the flowers were boiled in wine to drink to brighten the mood, and meadowsweet was used in Elizabethan beer alongside other herbs such as Dost or Gundermann , while hops as a beer ingredient was still frowned upon there at the time.
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . 8th edition. Page 562. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 .
- ↑ Peter Zwetko: The rust mushrooms Austria. Supplement and host-parasite directory to the 2nd edition of the Catalogus Florae Austriae, III. Part, Book 1, Uredinales. (PDF; 1.8 MB).
- ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 2, IHW, Eching 2004, ISBN 3-930167-61-1 , pp. 40-41.
- ↑ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora . With the collaboration of Theo Müller. 6th, revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1990, ISBN 3-8001-3454-3 .
- ^ Richard Pott: The plant societies of Germany. UTB, Ulmer, Stuttgart 1992. ISBN 3-8252-8067-5 (UTB)
- ↑ a b c d A. Kurtto, 2009: Rosaceae (pro parte majore). Datasheet In: Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity .
- ^ Heinrich E. Weber : Rosaceae. , Page 280. In: Gustav Hegi : Illustrierte Flora von Mitteleuropa. 3rd edition Volume IV, Part 2 A, Blackwell-Wissenschafts-Verlag Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-8263-3016-1 .
- ↑ Martina Melzer: Medicinal Plant Lexicon: Meadowsweet. In: pharmacies look around. December 22, 2016, accessed January 7, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Gunter Steinbach (Ed.), Bruno P. Kremer u. a .: wildflowers. Recognize & determine. Mosaik, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-576-11456-4 , p. 70.
- ↑ a b Johannes Gottfried Mayer , Bernhard Uehleke , Kilian Saum : The great book of monastic medicine. Zabert Sandmann, Munich 2013. ISBN 978-3-89883-343-1 . P. 130
- ↑ Monika Schulte-Löbbert: Real meadowsweet: The vegetable aspirin. In: PTA forum , undated.
- ↑ Bettina Rahfeld: Microscopic color atlas of plant drugs. Spectrum Academic Publishing House, 2009. ISBN 978-3-8274-1951-4
- ↑ a b Ingrid and Peter Schönfelder : The new manual of medicinal plants, botany medicinal drugs, active ingredients applications. , Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart, 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-12932-6
- ↑ FSVO Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
- ^ Community herbal monograph on Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., Herba
- ^ Community herbal monograph on Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., Flos
- ↑ Wolf-Dieter Storl: Plants of the Celts. 3. Edition. Aarau: AT Verlag, 2003.
literature
- Detlev Arens : Sixty native wild plants in vivid portraits. Du Mont, Cologne 1991. ISBN 3-7701-2516-9
- Manfred Bocksch: The practical book of medicinal plants. BLV, Munich 1996. ISBN 3-405-14937-1
- Elisabeth Lestrieux, Jelena de Belder: The taste of flowers and blossoms. Dumont, Cologne 2000. ISBN 3-7701-8621-4
- Angelika Lüttig, Juliane Kasten: Rose hip & Co - blossoms, fruits and spread of European plants. Fauna Verlag, Nottuln 2003. ISBN 3-935980-90-6
- Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora . With the collaboration of Theo Müller. 6th, revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1990, ISBN 3-8001-3454-3 .
- Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common Central European species in portrait . 7th, corrected and enlarged edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1 .
Web links
- Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., Real meadowsweet. In: FloraWeb.de.
- Real meadowsweet . In: BiolFlor, the database of biological-ecological characteristics of the flora of Germany.
- Profile and distribution map for Bavaria . In: Botanical Information Hub of Bavaria .
- Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim. In: Info Flora , the national data and information center for Swiss flora . Retrieved November 8, 2015.
- Map for distribution in the northern hemisphere.
- Thomas Meyer: Data sheet with identification key and photos at Flora-de: Flora von Deutschland (old name of the website: Flowers in Swabia )
- Use in folk medicine.
