Meadowsweet

Filipendula ulmaria

The meadowsweet contains aspirin, which is used – even today – as a medicine for pain and epidemics. Hot tea made of the meadowsweet lowers fever and makes a person sweat. As the plant contains tannin, it can also be used as a treatment for diarrhoea. The leaves are gathered when the flower begins to bloom.

The meadowsweet is a perennial, and its flower has a strong smell. It is common throughout Finland, although rare in the treeless fell areas. The meadowsweet thrives in damp and light habitats. Its flowers contain ethereal oil, which consists, for example, of salicylic aldehyde, the methyl ester of salicylic acid and some vanillin. Because of the salicylic acid, the plant can be used as a painkiller.