As its common name suggests, meadowsweet is a sweet-smelling herb that often grows in meadows. It is a perennial in the rose family and is native to Europe, the British Isles, and western Asia, and has also been naturalized in parts of North America. Filipendula ulmaria has been used to create potpourris and to add flavor to beers, wines, and stews.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near East and Middle East). It has been introduced and naturalised in North America.
Meadowsweet has also been referred to as queen of the meadow, pride of the meadow, meadow-wort, meadow queen, lady of the meadow, dollof, meadowsweet, and bridewort.
The English common name meadowsweet dates from the 16th century. It did not originally mean ‘sweet plant of the meadow’, but a plant used for sweetening or flavouring mead. An earlier common name dating from the 15th century was ‘meadsweet’.
Meadowsweet is known by many other names. In Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale it is known as meadwort and was one of the ingredients in a drink called “save”. It was also known as bridewort, because it was strewn in churches for festivals and weddings, and often made into bridal garlands. In Europe, it took its name “queen of the meadow” for the way it can dominate a low-lying, damp meadow.
The specific epithet ulmaria means “elmlike”, possibly in reference to its individual leaves which resemble those of the elm (Ulmus). The generic name, Filipendula, comes from filum, meaning “thread” and pendulus, meaning “hanging”. This is said to describe the slender attachment of root tubers, which hang characteristically on the genus, on fibrous roots.
The stems, growing up to 120 cm, are 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) tall, erect and furrowed, reddish to sometimes purple. The leaves are dark-green on the upper side and whitish and downy underneath, much divided, interruptedly pinnate, having a few large serrate leaflets and small intermediate ones. Terminal leaflets are large, 4–8 cm long, and three- to five-lobed.
Meadowsweet has delicate, graceful, creamy-white flowers clustered close together in irregularly-branched cymes, having a very strong, sweet smell redolent of antiseptic. They flower from early summer to early autumn and are visited by various types of insects, in particular Musca flies.
The flowers are small and numerous, they show 5 sepals and 5 petals with 7 to 20 stamens.

II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Meadowsweet thrives in conditions with partial sun, where it receives a gentle balance of light and shade. This optimal light environment enables robust growth and contributes to its health and flowering capability. Although meadowsweet displays a considerable tolerance for full sun, excessive exposure can lead to stress, negatively impacting its vigour and potentially scorching its foliage. In an outdoor setting, meadowsweet should be planted in areas where the light is dappled or filtered, especially in regions with intense midday sun. Not commonly cultivated indoors, meadowsweet is best suited for garden borders or naturalized areas, where its adaptive response to light supports a healthy life cycle.
Watering
Thriving in damp meadows and along streambanks, meadowsweet has evolved to prefer consistent moisture, reflecting its native lush environments. This species is moderately drought-tolerant but favors a stable humidity level for optimal growth. Regular hydration is key, with watering every week maintaining its verdant vigor. As an herbaceous perennial commonly grown outdoors, meadowsweet’s water uptake is significantly influenced by the growing season, requiring more frequent irrigation during active growth phases to support its lush foliage and characteristic creamy blooms.
Soil
Meadowsweet is generally considered easy to care for, thriving in damp, acidic to neutral soil. It requires consistently moist soil, making it necessary to ensure regular watering and avoid drying out.
Fertilizing
For meadowsweet, apply a balanced nutrition fertilizer rich in phosphorus to encourage blooming. Fertilize bimonthly during the growing season, sparingly at 1 tsp per gallon of soil. Fertilization promotes vigorous growth and optimizes flower production. Avoid over-fertilization to prevent root burn. In winter, reduce frequency as meadowsweet’s growth slows. Use a well-diluted solution for safety and effectiveness. This tailored approach enhances meadowsweet’s health and display.
Planting Instructions
Pruning
Propagation
Renowned for its fragrant, frothy flowers, meadowsweet thrives in moist meadows and along stream edges. Propagation is often successfully carried out through division, allowing gardeners to multiply their plants with ease. When dividing meadowsweet, carefully unearth and split the root ball, making sure each section contains roots and shoots for optimal growth. This method encourages a quick establishment and mirrored traits of the parent plant, offering a reliable way to expand meadowsweet’s presence in a garden setting.
Transplanting
The prime time to transplant meadowsweet is when the spring awakens the garden, from its early stir to its full bloom. Choose a spot with moist soil that receives partial sun. Gentle handling of the root ball encourages a seamless transition.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
Meadowsweet is grown as an ornamental in temperate gardens for its gorgeous sprays of white flowers, interesting foliage, and strong, attractive perfume. It thrives in moist areas of the garden in partial shade or full sun, and is used to brighten up those areas of the garden. It can also be grown as part of a mixed bed of water-loving ornamentals.
- Other uses
The whole herb possesses a pleasant taste and flavor, the green parts having a similar aromatic character to the flowers, hence the use of the plant as a strewing herb, strewn on floors to give the rooms a pleasant aroma, and its use to flavor wine, beer, and many kinds of vinegar. The flowers can be added to stewed fruit and jams, giving them a subtle almond flavor. Some foragers also use the flowers to flavor desserts such as panna cotta. It has many medicinal properties. The whole plant is a traditional remedy for an acidic stomach. The dried flowers are used in potpourri. It is also a frequently used spice in Scandinavian varieties of mead.
Chemical constituents include salicin, flavone glycosides, essential oils, and tannins. In 1838, Raffaele Piria obtained salicylic acid from the buds of meadowsweet. Thereafter in 1899, scientists at the firm Bayer used salicylic acid derived from meadowsweet to synthesise acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), which was named after the old botanical name for meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria. The name then became aspirin.
A natural black dye can be obtained from the roots by using a copper mordant.
A tea made from Filipendula ulmaria flowers or leaves has been used in traditional Austrian herbal medicine for the treatment of rheumatism, gout, infections, and fever.