Sweet Woodruff Galium odoratum


  • Common Names
  • Sweet Woodruff , Wild Baby's Breath
  • Botanical Name
  • Galium odoratum
  • Syn. Asperula odorata
  • Family
  • RUBIACEAE
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Medicinal Uses & Benefits of Sweet Woodruff

remedyHow to Use| Side Effects |

How to Use: Sweet Woodruff


Sweet woodruff is one of those herbs with a long tradition of practical use, yet very little research has been done to document or support the folklore. This is a not uncommon occurrence with those gentle herbs whose commercial value is low and whose uses are mostly the simples of country people; wound healing, stomach upsets, weak veins and circulatory problems, and as a remedy for strengthening the nervous system and heart function, and for blood purification. My own experience with this herb is that it makes such a sweet, relaxing tea that it well earns a place in my herbal stash and a spot in a shady corner in the garden. 1

Preparation Methods & Dosage :Strongly scented when dried, sweet woodruff is used in potpourris, and perfumes. The leaves can be used in herbal teas.

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Sweet Woodruff Remedies

Sweet Woodruff Side Effects: Sweet woodruff contains coumarin, which give it a sweet scent. Very high doses of coumarin can be toxic, which lead to a ban of its use in commercial food stuffs in Germany since 1981. Sweet woodruff has a long history of safe use, and no side effects have been reported using the whole herb in teas.

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Regional Traditions :European *

How to Grow Sweet Woodruff

Excellent choice for shady areas, a sweet woodruff spreads to form a ground cover in shady areas, green leaves, delicate, white spring blooming flowers, and highly aromatic

Related Species

Lady's Bedstraw or Yellow Bedstraw
Galium verum Sweet-scented Bedstraw, Galium triflorum
Cleavers
Galium aparine : The common name 'Bedstraw' comes from the old practice of stuffing mattresses with plants in the genus. The sweet scent comes from the coumarin content, which also killed fleas.


History and Traditions & Folklore

Sweet woodruff has been used in Europe since the Middle Ages as both food and medicine. The Germans used it to flavor the traditional May wine, Maiwein ,drunk in celebration of the return of spring and of life and fertility.
References:
books citedWorks Cited
  • The Commission E Monographs. Galii odorati herba Waldmeisterkraut Published October 15, 1987 (1993)
    Sweet woodruff herb is used for prophylaxis and therapy of diseases and discomforts of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, liver and gallbladder, as well as the kidney and urinary tract, also for circulatory disorders, venous complaints, weak veins, hemorrhoids, as an anti-inflammatory and for dilation of the blood vessels. Furthermore, as sedative for sleep disorders, for inducing sleep, for spasms, abdominal discomforts, skin diseases, for wound treatment, as a diaphoretic, as a remedy for strengthening the nervous system and heart function, and for blood purification.