Galium odoratum

What to Eat

Edible parts: Flowers, Leaves - tea, Herb, Spice

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. They carry a coumarin scent similar to freshly mown hay and are used as a flavouring in cooling drinks and added to fruit salads. Soaking the leaves in white wine produces 'Maitrank', an aromatic tonic drink made in Alsace. A fragrant and delicious tea can be made from the green-dried leaves and flowers — slightly wilted leaves are used, giving a fresh, grassy flavour. The sweet-scented flowers can be eaten or used as a garnish.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. In China it grows in mountain forests between 1,500-2,800 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 3-9. In Hobart Botanical gardens.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Bosnia, Britain, Canada, Caucasus, China, Czech Republic, Europe, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Middle East, Netherlands, North Africa, North America, Norway, Russia, Scandinavia, Siberia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Turkey,Türkiye, USA,

How to Identify

A small plant which keeps growing from year to year. It grows 45 cm high and spreads 90 cm wide. The stems are square in cross section. All parts of the plant have an odour. The leaves are narrow and stiff. They are slightly prickly. They are 5 cm long. They occur in neat rings of 6 to 8. The flowers are small and white. They are 35 mm across. They have a sweet scent.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed.

Propagation: Seed is best sown in situ as soon as it is ripe in late summer, though spring sowing is possible and may be very slow to germinate. A period of cold stratification helps reduce germination time, and incorporating plenty of leafmould into the soil along with tree shade also improves germination rates. Divide in spring, or throughout the growing season if divisions are kept moist until established. Larger clumps can go directly into permanent positions; smaller clumps are best potted and grown on in a cold frame before planting out in spring. Softwood cuttings can be taken after flowering and rooted in a frame.

Medicinal Uses

Sweet woodruff was widely used during the Middle Ages as an external application to wounds and cuts and internally for digestive and liver problems. Today it is valued mainly for its tonic, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves are antispasmodic, cardiac, diaphoretic, diuretic, and sedative. An infusion treats insomnia, nervous tension, varicose veins, biliary obstruction, hepatitis, and jaundice. The plant is harvested just before or as it comes into flower and can be dried for later use. One report advises caution in use while another considers it entirely safe. Excessive doses can cause dizziness and symptoms of poisoning. The dried plant contains coumarins that prevent blood clotting, though in excessive doses this can lead to internal bleeding. The plant is grown commercially as a source of coumarin for producing an anticoagulant drug. Do not use this remedy if taking conventional medicine for circulatory problems or if pregnant. Both Asperuloside (a terpenoid) and Coumarin (a benzopyrone) occur in some species of Galium. Asperuloside can be converted into prostaglandins, which stimulate the uterus and affect blood vessels, making the genus of significant interest to the pharmaceutical industry. A homeopathic remedy made from the plant is used for inflammation of the uterus.

Other Uses

A red dye is obtained from the root. Soft-tan and grey-green dyes are obtained from the stems and leaves. The plant makes good ground cover on woodland edges or in cool shade under shrubs, spreading rapidly at the roots and serving as an ideal carpeting plant for bulbs to grow through. Although the fresh plant has little aroma, it becomes very fragrant as it dries, developing the scent of newly mown grass and retaining it for years. It is used in linen cupboards to protect against moths and was formerly used as a strewing herb and as an ingredient in pot-pourri. Bunches were also hung in the home to keep rooms cool and fragrant in summer.

Galium odoratum, the sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw, is a flowering perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to much of Europe. It is widely cultivated for its flowers and its sweet-smelling foliage.

Notes

There are about 300 Galium species. There are 60 species in tropical America.

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