Even in Celtic times, meadowsweet was considered one of the most important medicinal plants by the Druids. The flowers and the herb are still used today as medicinal drugs, and parts of the plant are also used in cooking.

There are two theories as to the origin of the German name "Mädesüß". The first theory is that it is derived from the old German word "Met", which used to be flavoured with the flowers. According to the second theory, the name could come from the old German "Mahd = to mow", as the meadowsweet gave the hay a sweet flavour.

The meadowsweet(Filipendula ulmaria) belongs to the rose family(Rosaceae).

In the terminal flower panicle, several flowers with a five-petalled, creamy white corolla and numerous stamens are united to form a large, bright flower. The stem of the meadowsweet grows upright to a height of 150 cm and has alternate leaves.

The lower leaves have long stalks and are intermittently pinnate with two to five pairs of large, pointed-ovate lateral leaflets and three-lobed terminal leaflets. The upper leaves, on the other hand, sit almost on the stem and consist only of the three-lobed terminal leaflet. The leaf surface is matt green on the upper side and usually glabrous, but with dense grey to white felt-like hairs on the veins or over the entire surface on the underside. The leaf margin is shallowly double serrated.

In Austria and Europe there are only two species of Filipendula, the greater meadowsweet and the lesser meadowsweet. The genus comprises around 15 species worldwide. The medicinally used species(Filipendula ulmaria) can be found from Great Britain through Central and Northern Europe to Eastern Siberia and Mongolia. It grows in damp to wet meadows (cabbage thistle meadows), litter meadows, riparian scrub, siltation communities, fens and alder swamp forests in the colline (plains and hills) to subalpine altitudes.

The spreading, creamy flower panicle with its honey, vanilla or almond-like odour attracts numerous insects, including bees, pollen-eating flies, hoverflies and beetles for pollination.

The leathery, hard nutty fruits are spread by wind, water and animals.

The preservation of diversity is very important to us, which is why we store around 5,400 samples of seeds and plants in our gene bank . With the gene bank for agricultural crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, we are making a significant contribution to the preservation of biodiversity.