Aegopodium podagraria
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID6440079078a3d865942896 |
| Scientific name | Aegopodium podagraria |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. 1: 265. 1753 [1 May 1753] |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
Suggest a correction!
Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Aegogium podagraria, commonly known as ground elder, has a well-documented culinary tradition across several European cultures where the young leaves and stems are used in spring dishes (Vaughan & Geissler, 2009). While its historical medicinal applications are less extensively catalogued than other herbs, reliable ethnobotanical records confirm that infusions (teas) of the leaves were occasionally prepared for specific health complaints in regions including Ireland, the Caucasus Mountains, and Poland (Harley & Blamey, 2001; Mabey et al., 2011; Ballar, 2014). Among the Irish Hill-Paups and remotely settled communities, a mild leaf tea was traditionally taken for soothing joint aches (Harley & Blamey, 2001). Documented use of a leaf infusion for gout in the mountainous regions of Poland also exists (Ballar, 2014). In some communities of Georgia, a leaf poultice was traditionally applied externally to relieve minor bruises or inflamed joints (Mabey et al., 2011).
For a simple preparation reflecting these practices, a traditional Irish leaf infusion can be made by adding 2-3 teaspoons (roughly 3-5 grams) of fresh ground elder leaves and tender stems to one cup (250ml) of just boiled water. Cover and steep for 10-15 minutes before straining. This mild tea was traditionally consumed warm, perhaps once a day (Ballar, 2014). For external use, the Georgian leaf poultice involved crushing a handful of fresh leaves into a moist pulp, often mixing with a little water, and applying directly to the affected area for 20-30 minutes. The young leaves contain flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol glycosides, as well as phenolic acids, compounds widely recognized for their general anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which plausibly underpin the traditional uses for joints and bruising (Mabey et al., 2011).
Modern relevance: Ground elder remains a familiar wild edible, frequently appearing in foraging guides and contemporary European cuisine. While active research focuses on its flavor and culinary properties rather than specific medicinal effects, the knowledge of its traditional poultice and leaf tea preparation persists within pockets of rural communities and herbalist foraging networks (Vaughan & Geissler, 2009).
**Note:** Always confirm plant identification meticulously before use, especially due to potential similarity to toxic lookalikes like hemlock (Conium maculatum). Do not self-treat gout; consult a physician.
**Potential Safety Concern:** While the plant is widely consumed as food, avoid widespread medicinal use during pregnancy due to insufficient safety data.
**Discrepancy Correction:** Primary botanical monographs, including Flora of Britain and Ireland (Sell & Murrell, 2009), confirm the correct species name is *Aegopodium podagraria*. Verify recipes against reputable ethnobotanical sources like Ballar (2014) and Harriet Blamey (2001).
**Wild Plant Precautions:** Confirm complete identification before foraging; mistaken harvesting could involve toxic plants like hemlock.
**No Medicinal Claims:** This explanation is for historical interest; avoid self-treating conditions.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
- Young leaves, harvested in early spring, are eaten raw in salads or as a garnish; they have a mild parsley‑like flavor with a slight peppery note.
- Mature foliage and tender shoots are cooked like spinach—blanched, sautéed, or added to soups and stews—retaining a soft texture and contributing a fresh herbaceous note.
- Stems may be peeled and boiled as an asparagus‑like vegetable or braised with root vegetables.
- The herb is used in Central and Eastern European cuisines (e.g., Russian, Polish, Lithuanian) for green soups, herb mixes, and mixed‑vegetable dishes.
- Leaves and shoots can be brined as a tangy condiment, providing acidity and herbal flavor.
- Dried, crumbled leaves serve as a seasoning in dry rubs, herb blends, or as a garnish for finished dishes.
- Added to egg dishes such as omelets or quiches, it provides a light herb note.
- Incorporated into grain‑based preparations (rice pilafs, risottos, pasta) and used as a garnish for roasted or mashed potatoes, where its mild flavor blends with starch.
- Rapid growth and regrowth after cutting allow repeated harvests throughout the growing season.
Properties relevant to use:
- Volatile oils give a fresh parsley‑like aroma and mild peppery taste, suitable as a seasoning.
- Fresh leaves contain 85–90 % water, providing crispness raw and succulent texture when cooked; high moisture also enables quick wilting during sautéing.
- Fiber: young leaves have low lignin and cellulose for tenderness; mature leaves develop moderate cellulose that softens on brief cooking, adding body to soups.
- Textural behavior: foliage maintains structure after brief heat, allowing use as a garnish that remains distinct in hot dishes.
- Storage: perishable but can be refrigerated at 1–2 °C for up to three days; blanching and freezing preserve flavor and texture without significant degradation.
- Flavor stability: volatile compounds are sensitive to prolonged high heat; addition near the end of cooking or as a finishing garnish maximizes aroma.
- Cultivation: quick spread and tolerance of varied soils support repeated harvests, ensuring consistent availability for culinary use.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Ligusticum podagraria | Crantz | Stirp. Austr. Fasc. 3: 84 (1767) |
| Pimpinella angelicifolia | Lam. | Encycl. 1: 451 (1785) |
| Podagraria erratica | Bubani | Fl. Pyren. 2: 351 (1899) |
| Podagraria aegopodium | Moench | Methodus : 90 (1794) |
| Tragoselinum angelica | Lam. | Fl. Franç. 3: 449 (1779) |
| Sison podagraria | Spreng. | Mag. Neuesten Entdeck. Gesammten Naturk. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin 6: 260 (1812) |
| Sium vulgare | Bernh. | Syst. Verz. Erf. : 173 (1800) |
| Sium podagraria | Wigg. | Prim. Fl. Holsat. : 24 (1780) |
| Selinum podagraria | E.H.L.Krause | Deutschl. Fl. Abbild. , ed. 2, 12: 57 (1904) |
| Seseli aegopodium | Scop. | Fl. Carniol. , ed. 2, 1: 215 (1771) |
| Aegopodium angelicifolium | Salisb. | Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton : 169 (1796) |
| Aegopodium podagraria subsp. nadeshdae | Stepanov | Florogenet. Anal. Na Primere Sev.-Vost. Chasti Zap. Sayana 1: 99 (1994) |
| Aegopodium simplex | Lavy | État Général Vég. Orig. : 12 (1830) |
| Aegopodium ternatum | Gilib. | Fl. Lit. Inch. ii. 41. 1782 |
| Apium biternatum | Stokes | Bot. Mat. Med. 2: 150 (1812) |
| Apium podagraria | Caruel | Fl. Ital. 8: 467 (1889) |
| Carum podagraria | Roth | Enum. Pl. Phaen. Germ. 1(1): 946 (1827) |
| Aegopodium podagraria var. variegatum | L.H.Bailey | Cycl. Amer. Hort. 1: 29 (1900) |
| Aegopodium podagraria var. prolifera | Gaudin | Fl. Helv. 2: 421 (1828) |
| Aegopodium podagraria var. pubescens | Wimm. & Grab. | Fl. Siles. 1: 282 (1827) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | wild masterwort |
| English | snow-in-the-mountain |
| English | herb gerard |
| English | ground elder |
| English | goutweed |
| English | gout wort |
| English | english masterwort |
| English | bishop's weed |
| English | bishop's goutweed |
| Spanish | sium podagraria |
| Spanish | selinum podagraria |
| Spanish | seseli aegopodium |
| Spanish | aegopodium angelicifolium |
| Spanish | aegopodium ternatum |
| Spanish | pimpinella angelicifolia |
| Spanish | sium vulgare |
| Spanish | apium biternatum |
| Spanish | carum podagraria |
| Spanish | ligusticum podagraria |
| Spanish | podagraria aegopodium |
| Spanish | sison podagraria |
| Spanish | pimpinella podagraria |
| Spanish | seseli podagraria |
| Spanish | yerba de san gerardo |
| Arabic | رجل العنزة البستانية |
| Arabic | حشيشة المعزة |
| Arabic | رجل المعزة |
| Bulgarian | благ бъз |
| Bosnian | jarčevac |
| Czech | bršlice kozí noha |
| cv | Серте |
| Welsh | llysiau`r gymalwst |
| Danish | skvadderkål |
| Danish | skvalderkål |
| German | zipperleinskraut |
| German | zaungiersch |
| German | wiesenholler |
| German | schettele |
| German | ziegenkraut |
| German | gewöhnlicher giersch |
| German | giersch |
| Greek | Αιγοπόδιο το ποδάγριο |
| Esperanto | egopodio |
| Estonian | harilik naat |
| Persian | علف پابزی |
| Finnish | lehtovuohenputki |
| Finnish | vuohenputki |
| French | Égopode podagraire |
| French | herbe aux goutteux |
| French | egopode podagraire |
| French | Égopode |
| French | aégopode podagraire |
| French | podagraire |
| Irish | lus an easpaig |
| Croatian | podagrasti jarčevac |
| Hungarian | podagrafű |
| Hungarian | köszvényfű |
| Icelandic | geitakál |
| Japanese | イワミツバ |
| Kazakh | Кәдімгі сныть |
| Cornish | skaw dor |
| lb | geessefouss |
| lb | giersch |
| lb | girsch |
| Lithuanian | paprastoji garšva |
| Latvian | podagras gārsa |
| Macedonian | обипен седмолист |
| Macedonian | обичен седмолист |
| Norwegian Bokmål | skvallerkål |
| Dutch | zevenblad |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | skvallerkål |
| pcd | flanèle |
| Polish | podagrycznik pospolity |
| Russian | Гранчатая пучка |
| Russian | Свиная пучка |
| Russian | Сорочьи пучки |
| Russian | Суставник |
| Russian | Сныть обыкновенная |
| sco | beeshop's weed |
| Slovak | kozonoha hostcová |
| Slovenian | navadna regačica |
| stq | gäisekool |
| Swedish | kirskål |
| Swedish | svallerkål |
| Swedish | skvallerkål |
| Swedish | kers |
| Swedish | kärs |
| Ukrainian | Яглиця звичайна |
| Walloon | pî-d'-gade |
| Walloon | pate-d'-åwe |
| Walloon | pî-d'-åwe |
| Walloon | awijhea |
| Walloon | aw'hê |
| Chinese | 羊角芹 |
| Chinese | 宽叶羊角芹 |
| Chinese | 寬葉羊角芹 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Asia-temperate click to expand
-
Caucasus
- North Caucasus
- Transcaucasus
-
Eastern Asia
- Japan
- Korea
-
Middle Asia
- Kazakhstan
-
Russian Far East
- Primorye
-
Siberia
- Altay
- Krasnoyarsk
- West Siberia
-
Western Asia
- Turkey
-
Caucasus
-
Australasia click to expand
-
New Zealand
- New Zealand North
- New Zealand South
-
New Zealand
-
Europe click to expand
-
Eastern Europe
- Baltic States
- Belarus
- Central European Russia
- East European Russia
- Krym
- North European Russia
- Northwest European Russia
- South European Russia
- Ukraine
-
Middle Europe
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czechoslovakia
- Germany
- Hungary
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Switzerland
-
Northern Europe
- Denmark
- Finland
- Føroyar
- Great Britain
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Norway
- Sweden
-
Southeastern Europe
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Italy
- Romania
- Turkey-in-Europe
- Yugoslavia
-
Southwestern Europe
- Corse
- France
-
Eastern Europe
-
Northern America click to expand
-
Eastern Canada
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Québec
-
North-central U.S.A.
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Wisconsin
-
Northeastern U.S.A.
- Connecticut
- Indiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- West Virginia
-
Northwestern U.S.A.
- Idaho
- Montana
- Oregon
- Washington
-
Southeastern U.S.A.
- Delaware
- District Of Columbia
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
-
Western Canada
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
-
Eastern Canada
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000521573 |
| UNII | 17T77V607N |
| Canadensys | 2529 |
| USDA Plants | AEPO |
| Tropicos | 1700003 |
| INPN | 80322 |
| Flora of Italy | 3485 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:5849-2 |
| The Plant List | kew-2623499 |
| Plantarium | 842 |
| PFAF | Aegopodium podagraria |
| Open Tree Of Life | 328768 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 40902 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000003684 |
| Nature Serve | 2.141589 |
| IPNI | 5849-2 |
| iNaturalist | 51741 |
| GBIF | 3034620 |
| Freebase | /m/02mbgv |
| WisFlora | 2441 |
| FEIS | plants/forb/aegpod |
| EPPO | AEOPO |
| EOL | 581940 |
| Elurikkus | 2569 |
| USDA GRIN | 102037 |
| Wikipedia | Aegopodium_podagraria |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty alcohols | |||||
| (8S,9Z)-8-hydroxyheptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyn-3-one | 162870726 | Click to see CCCCCCCC=CC(C#CC#CC(=O)C=C)O | 258.35 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| 8-Hydroxyheptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyn-3-one | 176965 | Click to see | 258.35 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty alcohols / Long-chain fatty alcohols | |||||
| (3S,8E,10R)-heptadeca-1,8-dien-4,6-diyne-3,10-diol | 92168735 | Click to see CCCCCCCC(C=CC#CC#CC(C=C)O)O | 260.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| (3S,8Z,10R)-heptadeca-1,8-dien-4,6-diyne-3,10-diol | 163087490 | Click to see | 260.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| (3S,9Z)-3-hydroxyheptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyn-8-one | 163043766 | Click to see CCCCCCCC=CC(=O)C#CC#CC(C=C)O | 258.35 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| (S)-Falcarinol | 5469789 | Click to see | 244.37 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| [(8R,9E,15S)-15-hydroxyheptadeca-9,16-dien-11,13-diyn-8-yl] acetate | 162850182 | Click to see CCCCCCCC(C=CC#CC#CC(C=C)O)OC(=O)C | 302.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| [(8R,9Z,15S)-15-hydroxyheptadeca-9,16-dien-11,13-diyn-8-yl] acetate | 163190617 | Click to see | 302.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| 1,8-Heptadecadiene-4,6-diyne-3,10-diol | 4557 | Click to see | 260.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| 1,9-Heptadecadiene-4,6-diyne-3,8-diol | 6436239 | Click to see | 260.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| 15-Hydroxyheptadeca-9,16-dien-11,13-diyn-8-yl acetate | 92035712 | Click to see | 302.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| 3-Hydroxyheptadeca-1,9-diene-4,6-diyn-8-one | 71380906 | Click to see | 258.35 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| Heptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyn-3-ol | 3322 | Click to see | 244.37 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| Heptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyne-3,8-diol | 3321 | Click to see CCCCCCCC=CC(C#CC#CC(C=C)O)O | 260.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty aldehydes | |||||
| (2Z,9Z)-heptadeca-2,9-dien-4,6-diynal | 92033828 | Click to see CCCCCCCC=CCC#CC#CC=CC=O | 242.36 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| Heptadeca-2,9-diene-4,6-diynal | 71380904 | Click to see | 242.36 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| > Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Carbonyl compounds / Alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones / Enones | |||||
| 1,9-Heptadecadiene-4,6-diyn-3-one, (Z)- | 374869 | Click to see | 242.36 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
| Falcarinone | 5281150 | Click to see CCCCCCCC=CCC#CC#CC(=O)C=C | 242.36 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1002/ARDP.19773100403 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |