''Galium odoratum'', the sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw, is a flowering

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant in the family

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

, native to much of Europe. It is widely cultivated for its flowers and its sweet-smelling foliage.

Description

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

, it grows to long, often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. The leaves are simple, lanceolate, glabrous, long, and borne in whorls of six to nine. The small (4–7 mm diameter) flowers are produced in cymes, each white with four petals joined together at the base. The fruits are 2–4 mm in diameter, produced singly, and each is covered in tiny, hooked bristles, which help disperse them by sticking temporarily to clothing and animal fur. It owes its sweet smell to the presence of the compound coumarin.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to much of Europe from Spain and Ireland to Russia, as well as Western Siberia, Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, China, and Japan. It is also sparingly naturalised in scattered locations in the United States and Canada.

Ecology

This plant prefers partial to full shade in moist, rich soils. In dry summers, it needs frequent watering. Propagation is by crown division, separation of the rooted stems, or digging up of the barely submerged perimeter

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

s. It is ideal as a groundcover or border accent in woody, acidic gardens where other shade plants fail to thrive. In the northeast United States, deer and chickens avoid eating it.

Toxicity

Industrial usage of the plant for sweets was prohibited in Germany in 1974, due to coumarin, the flavorant found in woodruff, being toxic to rats and mice in studies. It has, however, not been found to be harmful to humans, even in large doses, in which it follows a different metabolic pathway. The flavour is still popular for sweets in Germany, but is achieved artificially with 6-methyl coumarin. Products targeted towards adults, such as alcoholic drinks, are still permitted to include coumarin, in limited quantities.

Uses

It is widely cultivated for its flowers and sweet-smelling foliage. As its

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''odoratum'' suggests, the plant is strongly scented, the sweet scent being derived from coumarin. This scent increases on wilting and then persists on drying, and the dried plant is used in potpourri and as a moth deterrent. It was, and partially is, used to flavour May wine (called ''Maibowle'' or ''Maitrank'' in German), sweet juice punch, syrup for beer ('' Berliner Weisse''), brandy, jelly, jam, a soft drink ( Tarhun, which is Georgian), ice cream, and herbal tea. Also very popular are sweet woodruff-flavoured jellies, with and without alcohol. In Germany, where it is called'' Waldmeister'', it was and to some extent still is also used to flavour sherbet powder that features prominently in Günter Grass's novel '' The Tin Drum'' (1959).

Safety

It abounds with raphides.

References

Bibliography

External links

* USDA plants profile
Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant Finder
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q161090 odoratum Herbs Medicinal plants of Africa Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Europe Flora of France Flora of Western Asia Flora of Belgium Flora of Denmark Flora of Estonia Flora of Germany Flora of Greece Flora of Italy Flora of Latvia Flora of Lithuania Flora of Norway Flora of the United Kingdom Flora of Romania Flora of Canada Flora of the United States Flora of Spain Flora of Armenia Flora of Azerbaijan Flora of Georgia (country) Flora of Russia Flora of Siberia Flora of Iran Flora of China Flora of Japan Groundcovers Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus