ite about it until now.
Ground elder, which is in the parsley family, is also known as Aegopodium podagraria, herb gerard, bishop’s weed, goutweed, gout wort, snow-in-the-mountain, English masterwort and wild masterwort. It literally covers forest floors in the UK and is a very invasive, underutilised plant.
Before we delve a bit deeper into this plant, let’s talk identification
Ground elder has very characteristic leaf formation with three groups of leaves at the tip of the stem. The leaves are lightly serrated and unite at the stem. The smell is also characteristic as it smells like a light celery. The stem is V shaped, hollow and green, although it can become purple towards the base of the plant, BUT IS NEVER BLOTCHY!
The plant flowers in spring and early summer and the flower arrangement is characteristic of the parsley family, with white flowers arranged in umbels.
Medicinal
Ground elder was cultivated in some medicinal gardens in medieval times mainly as a medication used for gout. Indeed the name podagraria comes from the Greek Ποδάγρα (Podagra) which is an old word for gout. It was used to counteract the rich diets of monks and bishops in monasteries at the time. “All parts of the plant are antirheumatic, diuretic, sedative and vulnerary. An infusion is used in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and disorders of the bladder and intestines. Externally, it is used as a poultice on burns, stings, wounds, painful joints etc. “
Other uses
In Anglo-Saxon Britain, ground elder was used to clarify beers and may have been called ‘gill’ from the French guiller, meaning ‘to ferment beer’.
Culinary
It is best to pick leaves in spring before the plant flowers because then the leaves become bitter. Personally I love the taste and smell of ground elder and I find it serves as a great flavor-giver in greens pies, stews and stir fries. A favorite recipe to use it in is this spring soup that has other spring greens in it, but with the addition of ground elder and wild garlic it becomes truly great. Do you have any other ground elder recipes you would like to share?
(Fer)mental Greens 