Once much more common in the north-west corner of Shropshire, it is now restricted to only six sites in the county. The golden-yellow, tightly bunched globular flowers stand proud on tall stems, making it a popular garden flower, but how much more special to see it in its natural wild environment.

The golden globe shape is actually made up of ten sepals, with the true petals, tiny and insignificant, hidden inside.

The name comes from the leaves, which have a similarity to those of broad bean plants; a local name ‘bog hop’ shows that the leaves were once used to flavour beer in northern England – one of a number of herbs used in this way.

As a medicinal herb the plant was thought to cure rheumatism, scurvy and stomach complaints, and finely powdered, the leaves have been used as a remedy for ague (malaria). ‘being said to effect a cure where other means fail’. Isn’t it interesting, that a marsh plant should offer a cure for maladies most prevalent in that environment?

Today, meadowsweet is also one of thirty herbs and spices added to the popular Norfolk punch cordial drink, originally made by the monks of Norfolk. It was also used as a strewing herb, and the flowers boiled in wine taken to relieve malaria and other fevers. Malaria, or ‘quartain ague’, was once a common ailment in the marshy areas of Britain, so herbal remedies

would be eagerly sought after. Meadowsweet contains salicilin, used in the manufacture of aspirin, and has been considered a specific for a whole range of disorders - indigestion, flatulence, gastric ulcers, gastric reflux, liver disorders, cystitis, diarrhoea in children, rheumatism, cellulitis, bladder stones, and oedema. It was also used to scour milk churns, and the bitter root along with the leaves and flowers makes a reasonable tea substitute. So many uses for one plant!

Boil the young leaves and stems to eat as a vegetable or chop the leaves and add to stewed fruit. The sweet-tasting roots are also edible and the aromatic seeds can be used as a culinary spice.

Medicinally it has been used for many complaints from lung and chest diseases to rheumatism – more marshy ailments! Small boys also used the hollow stems as pea-shooters. A note of caution though – identification of the species is crucial, as similar plants in the family are very poisonous, and like all species of angelica, wild angelica contains phototoxic compounds called furanocoumarins that may cause sensitivity to the sun. The sap may also cause a rash or skin inflammation in some individuals.