Ground Elder / Spring / Summer / Edible

Common Names

Gout weed, Bishops weed, Herb Gerard

Botanical Name

Aegopodium podagraria

Scientific Classification

Kingdom – Plantae

Order – Apiales 

Family – Apiaceae

Identifying Features for Ground Elder

Non-native, flowering, herbaceous perennial

Leaves

Light green, toothed, ovate leaves usually in groups of five, shiny when young becoming darker with age with a matt finish.

Flowers

An umbel of tiny white flowers.

Stem

A short, hollow stem with a u-shaped groove.

Habitat

Woodland edges, parks, gardens

Known hazards

Once the plant flowers it becomes a mild laxative and has soporific effects so it is best avoided.

Could be Confused with

Potential lookalikes: Dogs Mercury, but this has hairy leaves that don’t grow in groups of three. Very young elder can look similar but these have a definite stem which becomes the trunk.

Edible Uses

Use the leaves as an alternative to parsley

Notes on Herbal uses

The leaves were traditionally used as a poultice for gout.

Extra notes from the Foragers

A non-native plant bought to Britain by the Romans, it is aggressively invasive as many gardens will know.

Sometimes it absolutely carpets the floor until there is oceans of the stuff, it has many many uses so we should be picking not spraying this stuff 🙂