meadowsweet

Sweet-smelling marsh plant

Meadowsweet is a perennial plant native to Europe and western Asia, found in damp meadows and along stream banks.

It produces clusters of small, creamy-white flowers with a sweet almond-like fragrance that made it popular for strewing on floors in medieval times.

The plant contains salicylic acid compounds, which contributed to the development of aspirin—the drug's name derives partly from meadowsweet's old botanical name, *Spiraea*.

medicinal

salicylic

Acid from willow bark

anti-inflammatory · feverfew · antipyretic · gastric · digestive · antacid · diuretic · folk medicine · herbalism · apothecary

wildflower

bloom

Flower or flourishing state

  • blossomFlower on fruit tree
  • petalBloom's colorful segment
  • plumeOrnamental feather or rising column

feathery · spray · panicle · rosaceae · perennial · native · hedgerow · cottage garden · spirea · pollinator

herbal

tisane

Herbal infusion beverage

tincture · cordial · mead · flavoring · strewing · brewing · elderflower · chamomile · lemon balm · hibiscus

fragrance

aroma

Pleasant distinctive smell

  • scentAirborne odor detected
  • almondEdible tree nut
  • honeyBees' viscous nectar product

sweetness · musk · perfumed · potpourri · sachet · nosegay · bouquet · essence · redolence · cloyingly

habitat

wetland

Waterlogged land ecosystem

  • marshGrassy waterlogged lowland
  • fenLow marshy ground
  • bogAcidic peat wetland

streambank · ditch · damp · riverbank · waterside · hedgerow · sedge · cattail · rush · watermint

Categories
Family

sweet, meadow

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Rated G