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Flora Emslandia - Plants in Emsland (northwestern Germany)

Goutweed

Aegopodium podagraria L.: The goutweed can be extremely annoying for garden owners. Using its underground runners, which can grow in one year up to one meter horizontally under the ground, it spreads rapidly in all directions and is virtually indestructible. It grows much faster than most garden plants, so that it blocks the light for their growth.

The most effective way to control the goutweed is to pull out the plants together with its root system. Even more promising, but labour intensive, is a subsequent sieving, because every little remaining root piece in the soil may sprout again. Another way to become master over the goutweed, is an opaque tarp, eg. a garden pond liner, spread over the affected part of the garden. However, it requires a minimum of two years, until the goutweed is starved.

Who still cannot get rid of it can make a virtue out of necessity and simply eat it. The young shoots can be served with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper as a salad or they can be prepared like spinach. Its taste and smell reminiscent of carrot or parsley.

In addition, the goutweed is an old medicinal plant. It should be effective against rheumatism, gout, sciatica and many other niggles, why it is called goutweed. Today in modern medicine it is no longer important, but who believes in its curative effect, may use it internally and externally. For a great cup of goutweed tea you take 2 tsp fresh leaves or 1 teaspoon dried ones. 2 to 3 cups a day should be drunk. Against gout, sciatica, rheumatism or mosquito bites should help crushed leaves, which are placed on the painful areas.

Dried leaves are not only suitable as a tea, but can be as parsley used for seasoning. Confusion with poisonous representatives of the celery family can be avoided, if one looks at a cross-section of the petioles. This is triangular in goutweed.

Historical publications

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) wrote about "The herb that is called gout": It was very warm and carries some viriditas (note: green forces, life forces) in itself, and recommended it against stomach pain. For this purpose, the herb and the seeds are coarsely ground, cooked in wine with a little honey, filtered and drunk warm. For prophylaxis, the nun advised to drink the cold tea several times a day.

Against gout she recommended to crush the herb and the seeds, accompanied by the fat of a bear and by a third as much olive oil. The whole is cooked in water and an ointment prepared therefrom. This is placed on the aching places.