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Filipendula vulgaris

Common name:	Dropwort	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Moench.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Ulmaria filipendula ((L.)Hill.), Spiraea filipendula (L.), Filipendula hexapetala (Gilib.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa, Siberia and the Caucasus.
Habitat:	Dry pastures on limestone or chalky soils[4].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dropwort [E,H,P,B,L], Filipendula [E], Knolspirea [D], Rode Steenbreek [E], Wiesen Geissbart [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	pendula = pendulous; vulgaris = common;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain; Germany; Spain; Ussr

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.75m by 0.4m . It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root.

Young leaves - raw or cooked[61, 177, 200]. They can be added to salads and soups[183].
Root - raw or cooked[61, 115, 177, 200]. Rather bitter[5]. Astringent[100]. Best if roasted[141]. A famine food, it is only used in times of scarcity[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic; Antispasmodic; Lithontripic.

The root is anthelmintic and lithontripic. It is used in the treatment of epilepsy, kidney and bladder stones, genital discharges and intestinal worms[61].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

Plants can be used as a ground cover when planted about 45cm apart each way[208]. The cultivar 'Flore Pleno' with sweetly scented double flowers has been recommended[208].

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained moisture retentive soil[200]. Dislikes shade[17]. Tolerates dry soils[200]. Grows well on calcareous soils[17].
The flowers are sweetly scented and are very attractive to bees[245].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame[1]. The seed can also be sown in a cold frame in spring, germinating best at a temperature of 10 - 13°c[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer if they have grown enough. If not, keep them in a cold frame for the winter and plant them out in late spring.
Division in autumn or winter[200]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are sweetly scented.

Cultivars

'Flore Pleno': This cultivar, growing to about 60cm tall with sweetly scented double flowers, has been recommended for use as a ground cover plant[200, 208].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Filipendula hexapetala (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Spiraea filipendula (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for filipendula vulgaris (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[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.

[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.

[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.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[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.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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