Sweet Woodruff

There are many plants and flowers associated with May Day: lilies of the valley (especially in France), hawthorn (especially in England), lilacs (especially in Ireland). All three bloom on or shortly after May Day but my favorite is another plant that flowers just in time for May Day: sweet woodruff.

Sweet woodruff (galium odoratum) is a low-lying ground cover with narrow dark-green leaves that grow in whorls around a central stem. It blooms around the first of May: small white flowers with four petals. Woodruff grows best in shade; mine is growing under a tree where nothing else grows. In Germany, it is called Waldmeister (master of the forest).

Woodruff does not have a strong fragrance until picked. But once dried, it develops a wonderful sweet aroma, a mixture of hay and vanilla. The scent comes from coumarin, a fragrant chemical also found in melilot and tonka beans. Coumarin is also an anti-coagulant and is used in blood-thinning medication.

Because of the presence of coumarin, the FDA only permits the use of sweet woodruff in alcoholic beverages (does that make sense?). Apparently large quantities have been known to cause vomiting and dizziness. It is probably best not to consume woodruff if pregnant or taking anti-coagulants.

Folk remedies call for the application of woodruff to fresh wounds; Jeanne Rose speculates this would have kept the blood from clotting and prevent infection. Sweet woodruff was also made into medicinal tea and used for soothing the stomach. It was recommended for heart and liver problems.

The dried herb is wonderful for scenting potpourris, can be stuffed into sachets and tucked between linens to scent them.

It is used to flavor May wine. Most recipes suggest suspending a piece of dried woodruff in white wine for just long enough to imbue the wine with its flavor–an hour or so. It also has a reputation for provoking lechery, which may be another reason for its association with May Day.

Woodruff can be grown easily from starts. Mine came from my friend Helen Farias. Just dig up a little clump, roots and all. Plant it where it will get shade. The plant spreads rapidly but is not invasive.