Leaf
Paul Fabre, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dropwort
Filipendula vulgaris Moench
Also known as: Fern-leaf dropwort
Family: Rosaceae
30 to 70 cm tall
Dry grassland, gardens, chalky soils
Flowering: May – July
Full sun
Hardy to -25°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Unlike meadowsweet, which likes damp soils, this relative prefers dry, chalky grassland. Meadowsweet grows in damp places, with large compound leaves and a characteristic sweet scent, whereas dropwort grows in dry grassland, with finer foliage and roots swollen into small tubers.
🍃 Leaves
Deeply cut, fern-like, bright green, in a basal rosette
🌸 Flowers
Small creamy-white flowers in large panicles
🍎 Fruits
Achenes grouped in a star
🪵 Bark
Swollen tuberous root, basal clump
🗺️ Distribution
Europe, temperate Asia; found in dry chalk grassland in France, more localised than meadowsweet.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Small white flowers grouped in corymbs, nectar-bearing, visited by bees and various insects.
✂️ Horticultural uses
Dry borders, flower meadows, edgings; finely cut foliage is decorative.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity.
⚠️ Look-alike species
Dropwort
Filipendula vulgaris
Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria
Meadowsweet grows in damp places, with large compound leaves and a characteristic sweet scent, whereas dropwort grows in dry grassland, with finer foliage and roots swollen into small tubers.
🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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