Galium odoratum, the sweet woodruff[ or sweetscented bedstraw,]
Description
A herbaceous plant, it grows to long,[Gleason, H. A. & A. J. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (ed. 2) i–910. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.]
It owes its sweet smell to the presence of the compound coumarin.
Distribution and habitat
The plant is native plant to much of Europe
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 . 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.
Uses
It is widely cultivated for its flowers and sweet-smelling foliage.
As its specific epithet 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.
Safety
It abounds with .
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