Waldmeister

Galium odoratum, Waldmeister, Woodruff

This spring I’ve put five little plants of the lovely herb we call ‚Waldmeister‘ in front of our house in the hopes of having a decorative as well as useful addition to our garden. And to my utter delight so far they are obviously thriving well in the shadowy north facing spot. Today I picked some branches, let them wilt for a bit and then dipped them into a jug of white wine/water mixture for about 30 minutes. The ‚Waldmeister‘ gives off its particular flavour into the wine and makes a lovey ‚May vine‘.

Galium odoratum is a perennial plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. A herbaceous plant, it grows to 30-50 cm (12-20 ins.) long, often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. Its vernacular names include woodruff, sweet woodruff, and wild baby’s breath; master of the woods is probably a translation of the German Waldmeister. It is sometimes confused with Galium triflorum and Galium verum.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galium_odoratum