Galium species
The leaves can be used raw or cooked. The leaves are coumarin-scented (like freshly mown hay), they are used as a flavouring in cooling drinks and are also added to fruit salads etc.
The leaves are soaked in white wine to make 'Maitrank', an aromatic tonic drink that is made in Alsace.
A fragrant and delicious tea is made from the green-dried leaves and flowers. Slightly wilted leaves are used, the tea has a fresh, grassy flavour.
The sweet-scented flowers are eaten or used as a garnish.
An infusion of the leaves is used in the treatment of insomnia and nervous tension, varicose veins, biliary obstruction, hepatitis and jaundice.
The plant is harvested just before or as it comes into flower and can be dried for later use.
Excessive doses can produce dizziness and symptoms of poisoning.
The dried plant contains coumarins and these act to prevent the clotting of blood - though in excessive doses it can cause internal bleeding. Do not use this remedy if you are taking conventional medicine for circulatory problems or if you are pregnant.
A red dye is obtained from the root. Soft-tan and grey-green dyes are obtained from the stems and leaves.
A good ground-cover plant for growing on woodland edges or in the cool shade of shrubs. It spreads rapidly at the roots. It is an ideal carpeting plant for bulbs to grow through.
Although the fresh plant has very little aroma, as it dries it becomes very aromatic with the scent of newly-mown grass and then retains this aroma for years. It is used in the linen cupboard to protect from moths etc.
The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.
It is also used in the treatment of epilepsy and hysteria.
A good ground cover for growing in cool shade under shrubs or in the woodland garden.
The leaves are eaten raw or cooked.
A yellow dye from the flowering stems is used as a food colouring.
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute. The seed is also said to be edible.
The chopped up plant can be used as a rennet to coagulate plant milks.
The flowering tops are distilled in water to make a refreshing acid beverage.
The plant is used as a remedy in gravel, stone or urinary disorders and is believed to be a remedy for epilepsy.
A powder made from the fresh plant is used to soothe reddened skin and reduce inflammation whilst the plant is also used as a poultice on cuts, skin infections, slow-healing wounds etc.
The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and is dried for later use.
A red dye is obtained from the root. It is rather fiddly to utilize. A yellow dye is obtained from the flowering tops. The dye is obtained from the foliage when it is boiled with alum.
The dried plant has the scent of newly mown hay, it was formerly used as a strewing herb and for stuffing mattresses etc. It is said to keep fleas away. A sprig in a shoe is said to prevent blisters.
It grows well in the summer meadow and is a food plant for the larvae of several species of butterflies.