Ground-elder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Aegopodium podagraria L. |
- Ajwain is also known as bishop's weed.
The ground-elder (Aegopodium podagraria) is a common weed in the carrot family (Apiaceae) that grows in shady places. It is sometimes also cited as "ground elder", though this format invites confusion by suggesting it is a species of elder (Sambucus), an unrelated genus. It is also known as goutweed, herb gerard, bishop's weed and snow-in-the-mountain. It is the type species of the genus Aegopodium.
The tender leaves have been used as a spring leaf vegetable much like spinach. It has also been used to treat gout and arthritis. The plant is said to have been introduced into England by the Romans and into Northern Europe by monks.
In some areas this plant is considered among the worst of weeds, readily spreading over large areas of ground by underground roots. A variegated form is grown as an ornamental plant, though with the advice to keep it isolated. Ground-elder is used as a food plant by the larvae of some species of Lepidoptera including dot moth, grey dagger and grey pug.
Contents |
[edit] Photos
 Variegated ground-elder in flower |
 Ground-elder on the wayside |
 A single umbel |
 Leaves |
 Stem profile - there is no toxic look-alike with a triangular profile. |
[edit] External links
[edit] Herbal information
- Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) Mrs. Grieve's "A Modern Herbal" @ Botanical.com
[edit] General information and control measures
 |
This Asterid article is a stub. Please help Wikipedia grow by expanding it. |
 |
This vegetable-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
