A common native, of the Crassulaceae family, this blazes in mats along a dry stone wall in Cleddon near Monmouth at the moment. It grows where there is almost no soil. A succulent, it has small clusters of 5 petalled flowers.
It is the alternate, overlapping leaves which are bright green that give it its name as they have a hot, peppery, biting taste.
Richard Mabey in Flora Britannica says it has "the longest and most cryptic vernacular name of any British plant, 'welcome-home-husband-though-never-so-drunk'." I leave that with you....
Ground-elder, Aegopodium podagraria
This member of the Apiaceae family grows in abundance in the Cleddon lanes. Probably introduced to Britain in the Roman period it is so notorious as a garden weed one of its folk names in Northern Ireland is Garden Plague. In Oxfordshire it was called Jump-about which may refer to its propensity to spread and form patches or the fact that it was used as a treatment for gout. In Wiltshire it has the name Gout-weed. Grigson in The Englishman's Flora tells that the leaves can be boiled like spinach and are spicy.
The leaves are divided into large oval leaflets. Stems are round but ridged.
Stamens are purple tipped and individual petals are heart-shaped.
These common plants, only a few hundred yards apart in Cleddon, benefit from the varied terrain: a sunny meadow wall and a shady lane.
Acknowledgements as usual to Harrap's Wild Flowers, Stace 4, Grigson The Englishman's Flora, and this time, in addition, Wild Flower Finder website which has great pictures and detailed info. http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/
Thanks for visiting this blog. I am very new to blogging and would welcome advice and feedback. Thank you those who have already helped. I am planning to focus on Beacon Hill heathland plants soon along with climbers more generally found in the Wye Valley.
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