SAMARA:
Meadowsweet - Filipendula ulmaria
Meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows.
An important food plant for hoverflies, butterflies and bees, it is also the main food plant for caterpillars of the following moths – Brown Spot Pinion, Hebrew Character, Powdered Quaker, Emperor, Lesser Cream Wave and Satyr Pug. Roots produce a black dye and the leaves a blue pigment both of which were widely used by the Celts. The seeds provide food for birds.
Culpepper says :
'The leaves, when they are full grown, being laid on the skin will, in a short time, raise blisters thereon, as Tragus saith.' He also states that for acquiring the 'merry heart' some use the flowers and some the leaves.' He tells us that 'a leave hereof put into a cup of claret wine gives also a fine relish to it.'
Aromatic, astringent, diuretic, and sub-tonic. It is a valuable medicine in diarrhoea, imparting to the bowels some degree of nourishment, as well as of astringency. It is also considered of some service as a corrector of the stomach, and not without some power as an alterative, and is frequently used in affections of the blood. It is a good remedy in strangury, dropsy, etc., and almost a specific in children's diarrhoea.
Meadowsweet was one of the Druid's most revered herbs. In the Mabinogion it is told that, among other herbs, Meadowsweet served as a magical ingredient to create the flower maiden 'Bloddeuedd' who was to be the wife of Llew Llaw Gyffes. Thus it is often associated with love magic. Alas, the magical marriage did not last. Meadowsweet may be more suitable for finding a passionate but short-lived affair rather than marital bliss. It is also associated with the gift of courage and protection and may be used to attune to the fairy realm.
Meadowsweet - Filipendula ulmaria
Meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows.
An important food plant for hoverflies, butterflies and bees, it is also the main food plant for caterpillars of the following moths – Brown Spot Pinion, Hebrew Character, Powdered Quaker, Emperor, Lesser Cream Wave and Satyr Pug. Roots produce a black dye and the leaves a blue pigment both of which were widely used by the Celts. The seeds provide food for birds.
Culpepper says :
'The leaves, when they are full grown, being laid on the skin will, in a short time, raise blisters thereon, as Tragus saith.' He also states that for acquiring the 'merry heart' some use the flowers and some the leaves.' He tells us that 'a leave hereof put into a cup of claret wine gives also a fine relish to it.'
Aromatic, astringent, diuretic, and sub-tonic. It is a valuable medicine in diarrhoea, imparting to the bowels some degree of nourishment, as well as of astringency. It is also considered of some service as a corrector of the stomach, and not without some power as an alterative, and is frequently used in affections of the blood. It is a good remedy in strangury, dropsy, etc., and almost a specific in children's diarrhoea.
Meadowsweet was one of the Druid's most revered herbs. In the Mabinogion it is told that, among other herbs, Meadowsweet served as a magical ingredient to create the flower maiden 'Bloddeuedd' who was to be the wife of Llew Llaw Gyffes. Thus it is often associated with love magic. Alas, the magical marriage did not last. Meadowsweet may be more suitable for finding a passionate but short-lived affair rather than marital bliss. It is also associated with the gift of courage and protection and may be used to attune to the fairy realm.