Aegopodium podagraria, commonly called ground elder, herb gerard, bishop's weed, goutweed, and snow-in-the-mountain, is a perennial plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae

Apiaceae

The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...

) that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of elder

Elderberry

Sambucus is a genus of between 5 and 30 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence...

 (Sambucus), which is very distantly related. It is the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 of the genus Aegopodium

Aegopodium

Aegopodium Native to Europe and western Asia. It is a genus of flowering plants of the carrot family Apiaceae, represented by about 7 species, all are perennial herbs. Flowers are compounded, umbels appearing in spring-summer...

.

Uses as food and medicine

The tender leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 have been used as a spring leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...

, much as spinach

Spinach

Spinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...

 was used. It has also been used to treat gout

Gout

Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...

 and arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

. The plant is said to have been introduced into England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 by the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 as a food plant and into Northern Europe

Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...

 by monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s. It is also eaten by Chinese and Tibetan monks.

It is best picked from when it appears (as early as February in the UK) to just before it flowers (May to June). If it is picked after this point it takes on an unusual taste and has a laxative effect. However it can be stopped from flowering by pinching out the flowers, ensuring that the plant remains edible if used more sparingly as a pot herb.

Invasive habit

In some areas, this plant is considered among the worst of weeds, as it readily spreads over large areas of ground by underground rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s. It is extremely invasive, and crowds out native species. The smallest piece of rhizome left in the ground will quickly form a sturdy new plant, followed by many more.

If a small plant finds its way into a perennial flower garden it will spread with vigor, resist all attempts at eradication, and make continued ornamental gardening there very difficult.

Ornamental use

A variegated form is grown as an ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

, though with the advice to keep it isolated.

Importance to wildlife

It is used as a food plant by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some species of Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 including dot moth

Dot Moth

The Dot Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe apart from the south-east.This is a very distinctive species with very dark brown, almost black, forewings marked with a large white stigma from which the species gets its common name. The hindwings are grey with a dark...

, grey dagger

Grey Dagger

The Grey Dagger is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from Europe and North Africa to northern Iran, Central Asia, southern and central Siberia and Mongolia. In the Levant it is found in Lebanon and Israel....

 and grey pug

Grey Pug

The Grey Pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East.The forewings of this species are grey marked with pale fascia and radial lines which give it a mottled appearance. The hindwings are much paler and plainer. Melanism is quite common in...

.

External links

• Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) Mrs. Grieve's "A Modern Herbal" at Botanical.com
• Ground Elder Aegopodium Podagraria Online Herb Guide
• Plant Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group: Goutweed (US Specific)