Field Guide
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Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria
Not yet photographed by the community
Creamy frothy flowers; sweet almond scent; damp meadows.
Species Profile
Green List; locally common and widespread, though declining in some regions due to wetland loss and agricultural intensification.
- Lifespan
- Perennial; individual plants typically live 5–10 years
- Size & Weight
- 60–120 cm tall; flower clusters 4–8 mm diameter, densely packed in panicles
- Habitat
- Damp meadows, riverside margins, wetland edges, and ditches throughout the UK, preferring moisture-rich soils.
- UK Distribution
- Found across the entire UK from southern England to northern Scotland, though more abundant in northern regions; resident perennial with year-round presence.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic plant; derives nutrients from soil and photosynthesis.
- Predators
- No significant specialist predators; leaves occasionally browsed by rabbits and deer.
- Mating Season
- Flowers June to September; peak flowering July to August.
- Breeding
- Reproduces via seed dispersal and vegetative spread through rhizomes; produces numerous small seeds in achenes dispersed by wind and water.
- Behaviour
- Meadowsweet attracts numerous pollinating insects, particularly bees and hoverflies. It spreads vegetatively via underground rhizomes, forming extensive colonies in suitable habitats. The plant is notably aromatic, with a sweet almond-like scent from its flowers.
- •Meadowsweet was historically strewn on floors in medieval times as a natural air freshener and was Queen Elizabeth I's favourite flower.
- •The plant contains salicylates related to aspirin and was traditionally used in herbal medicine for pain relief and fever reduction.
- •It is a key food plant for the caterpillars of several moth species, including the rosy marsh moth.
- •The name 'meadowsweet' derives from Old English meaning 'mead-sweetener', as it was used to flavour mead and ale.
- •Meadowsweet is one of the Druidic sacred herbs and features prominently in Celtic mythology and traditional Irish folklore.
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