About Filipendula ulmaria subsp. picbaueri (Podp.) Smejkal
This subspecies, Filipendula ulmaria subsp. picbaueri, commonly called meadowsweet, has erect, furrowed stems that grow 1–2 metres (3+1⁄2–6+1⁄2 ft) tall, and range in color from reddish to occasionally purple. Its leaves are dark-green on the upper surface, and whitish and covered in fine downy hairs underneath. The leaves are deeply divided into an interruptedly pinnate structure, with a few large serrated leaflets and smaller intermediate leaflets. Terminal leaflets are large, 4–8 cm long, and have three to five lobes. Meadowsweet produces delicate, graceful creamy-white flowers clustered closely together in irregularly-branched cymes. The flowers have a very strong, sweet smell similar to antiseptic. Flowering occurs from early summer to early autumn, and the flowers are visited by various types of insects, especially Musca flies. The flowers are small and numerous, with 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 7 to 20 stamens. This meadowsweet is common throughout the British Isles in damp areas, and is a dominant species in fens and wet woods. It is consistently included in the Juncus subnodulosus-Cirsium palustre fen-meadow and purple moor grass and rush pastures BAP habitat plant associations of Western Europe. The entire herb has a pleasant taste and flavour, with the green parts sharing the same aromatic character as the flowers. For this reason, the plant has been used as a strewing herb, strewn on floors to give rooms a pleasant aroma, and used to flavour vinegar, wine, and beer. Flowers can be added to stewed fruit and jams to add a subtle almond flavour. Some foragers also use the flowers to flavour desserts such as panna cotta. The plant has many reported medicinal properties. The whole plant is used as a traditional remedy for an acidic stomach. Dried flowers are used in potpourri. It is also a frequently used spice in Scandinavian varieties of mead. Its chemical constituents include salicin, flavone glycosides, essential oils, and tannins. In 1838, Raffaele Piria extracted salicylic acid from meadowsweet buds. Later in 1899, scientists at the pharmaceutical firm Bayer used salicylic acid derived from meadowsweet to synthesise acetylsalicylic acid, better known as aspirin. Aspirin was named after meadowsweet's old botanical name, Spiraea ulmaria, which is the origin of the drug's common name. A natural black dye can be obtained from the roots when a copper mordant is used. In traditional Austrian herbal medicine, a tea made from meadowsweet flowers or leaves has been used to treat rheumatism, gout, infections, and fever.
