It's stems are 3-6' tall, erect and furrowed, reddish to sometimes purple. The leaves are dark-green on the upper side and whitish and downy underneath. Having a few large serrate leaflets and small intermediate ones. It has a pleasant taste and flavor. She used it in rooms and in the out house to make them smell good. It seemed to suck the bad smells up. Dried, the flowers can be used in potpourri She also used it to sweeten wine and in her jelly.
Meadowsweet leaves and flowers contain salicylates, compounds that are converted by the body to aspirin. It was from meadowsweet that aspirin was born. Though willow has a longer history of being used to control pain due to its high content of salicylate, and was used by Hippocrates ‘the father of medicine’ in the 5th century, it was actually research on meadowsweet that led to the discovery of aspirin in the 19th century. This drug is now synthesized in the lab but we can still utilize these plants as natures gentle pain reliever. It can be used for indigestion, excess stomach acid, heartburn gastritis stomach ulcers, diarrhea, inflammation of the digestive tract ,headaches ,reduces fevers ,promotes sweating muscular aches, arthritic, rheumatic aches. One cup a day.
To use meadowsweet it is easy to pick the fresh flowers if you have them growing (be sure you know exactly what they look like don't take any chances on getting a hold of poisonous plants ). Or buy the dried flowers from your health-shop . Making an infusion is easy.Just add 1 teaspoon of dried herb per mug of boiling water and infuse for a minimum of 5 minutes leaving the lid on.
Do not exceed recommended dosage and use caution if you have an allergy to aspirin, based on the salicylate content. Excessive consumption may cause constipation.
Avoid use during pregnancy and breast feeding.Avoid use if you have any bleeding disorders or diabetes
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