View source for Galium odoratum

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Waldmeister(Mai).JPG
| genus = Galium
| species = odoratum
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scop.]]<ref name = GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date=2008-05-16}}</ref>
| synonyms_ref=<ref name="kategillis"/>
| synonyms = *''Asperula odorata'' <small>L.</small>
*''Galium matrisylva'' <small>F.H.Wigg.</small>
*''Asperula odora'' <small>Salisb.</small>
*''Chlorostemma odoratum'' <small>(L.) Fourr.</small>
*''Asperula matrisylva'' <small>Gilib.</small>
*''Asperula zangezurensis'' <small>Huseynov.</small>
*''Asterophyllum asperula'' <small>Schimp. & Spenn. in F.C.L.Spenner</small>
*''Asterophyllum sylvaticum'' <small>Schimp. & Spenn. in F.C.L.Spenner</small>
*''Asperula eugeniae'' <small>K.Richt.</small>
*''Galium odoratum ''var''. eugeniae'' <small>(K.Richt.) Ehrend. in E.Janchen</small>
}}

'''''Galium odoratum''''', the '''sweet woodruff'''<ref name = GRIN/> or '''sweetscented bedstraw''',<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=286666 | title = ''Gallium odoratum'' | publisher = [[Missouri Botanical Garden]] | access-date = 2 August 2021}}</ref> is a flowering [[perennial]] plant in the family [[Rubiaceae]], native to much of Europe. It is widely cultivated for its flowers and its sweet-smelling foliage.

==Description==

A [[herbaceous plant]], it grows to {{convert|25|-|50|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} long,<ref name="tfb">{{Cite book |last=Francis-Baker |first=Tiffany |title=Concise Foraging Guide |date=2021 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |isbn=978-1-4729-8474-6 |series=[[The Wildlife Trusts]] |location=London |pages=84}}</ref> often lying flat on the ground or supported by other plants. The leaves are simple, [[leaf shape|lanceolate]], [[glabrous]], {{convert|2|-|5|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, and borne in whorls of six to nine. The small (4–7&nbsp;mm diameter) flowers are produced in [[cymes]], each white with four petals joined together at the base. The fruits are 2–4&nbsp;mm in diameter, produced singly, and each is covered in tiny, hooked bristles, which help disperse them by sticking temporarily to clothing and animal fur.<ref>Gleason, H. A. & A. J. Cronquist. 1991. ''Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada'' (ed. 2) i–910. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=galium+odoratum|title=Galium odoratum [Caglio odoroso]|website=luirig.altervista.org}}</ref>

It owes its sweet smell to the presence of the compound [[coumarin]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Herre |first=Isabelle |last2=Stegemann |first2=Thomas |last3=Zidorn |first3=Christian |date=2025-08-01 |title=Comprehensive analysis of natural products of Galium odoratum (Rubiaceae), focusing on the formation of coumarin during the drying process |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031942225001086 |journal=Phytochemistry |volume=236 |pages=114485 |doi=10.1016/j.phytochem.2025.114485 |issn=0031-9422|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Waldmeisterfrüchte.jpg|Fruits
}}

==Distribution and habitat==
The plant is [[native plant|native]] to much of Europe<ref name="tfb" /> from Spain and Ireland to Russia, as well as Western Siberia, Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus,<ref name="kategillis">{{cite web |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=87028 |website=apps.kew.org}}</ref> China, and Japan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Galium odoratum in Flora of China @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250096343 |website=www.efloras.org}}</ref> It is also sparingly naturalised in scattered locations in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biota of North America Program |url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Galium%20odoratum.png}}</ref>

==Ecology==
This plant prefers partial to full shade in moist, rich soils. In dry summers, it needs frequent watering. Propagation is by [[Division (horticulture)|crown division]], separation of the rooted stems, or digging up of the barely submerged perimeter [[stolon]]s. It is ideal as a [[groundcover]] or border accent in woody, acidic gardens where other shade plants fail to thrive. In the northeast United States, deer and chickens avoid eating it.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}

==Toxicity==
Industrial usage of the plant for sweets was prohibited in Germany in 1974, due to [[coumarin]], the flavorant found in woodruff, being toxic to rats and mice in studies. It has, however, not been found to be harmful to humans, even in large doses, in which it follows a different metabolic pathway.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lake |first1=B.G |year=1999 |title=Coumarin Metabolism, Toxicity and Carcinogenicity: Relevance for Human Risk Assessment |journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=423–453 |doi=10.1016/S0278-6915(99)00010-1 |pmid=10418958}}</ref> The flavour is still popular for sweets in Germany, but is achieved artificially with [[6-methyl coumarin]]. Products targeted towards adults, such as alcoholic drinks, are still permitted to include coumarin, in limited quantities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Echter Waldmeister &#124; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e. V. |url=http://dge.de/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=834 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302040717/http://dge.de/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=834 |archive-date=2 March 2013 |access-date=17 January 2022 |website=dge.de}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=June 2025|reason=Archived article is no longer available on the site. Couldn't find any information regarding the supposedly still active prohibition of woodruff in sweets in Germany. EU Regulations specifically allow the use of woodruff. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R1334}}

==Uses==
It is widely cultivated for its flowers and sweet-smelling foliage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Galium odoratum |url=https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/29445-product.html |website=White Flower Farm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sweet Woodruff – Monrovia – Sweet Woodruff |url=http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/741/sweet-woodruff/ |website=www.monrovia.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=''Galium odoratum'' |url=http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/7595/Galium-odoratum/Details |access-date=19 June 2023 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society (London UK)}}</ref>

As its [[Botanical name#Binary name|specific epithet]] ''odoratum'' suggests, the plant is strongly scented, the sweet scent being derived from coumarin. This scent increases on wilting and then persists on drying, and the dried plant is used in potpourri and as a moth deterrent. It was, and partially is, used to flavour [[May wine]] (called ''Maibowle'' or ''Maitrank'' in German), sweet juice punch, syrup for beer (''[[Berliner Weisse]]''), brandy, jelly, jam, a soft drink ([[Tarhun (drink)|Tarhun]], which is Georgian), ice cream, and herbal tea.<ref name="tfb" /> Also very popular are sweet woodruff-flavoured jellies, with and without alcohol.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sweet-and-wild.com/sweet-woodruff-vodka-jelly/|title=Sweet Woodruff Vodka Jelly – Sweet & Wild|website=www.sweet-and-wild.com|access-date=2012-05-13|archive-date=2014-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407090655/http://www.sweet-and-wild.com/sweet-woodruff-vodka-jelly/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Germany, where it is called'' Waldmeister'', it was and to some extent still is also used to flavour sherbet powder that features prominently in [[Günter Grass]]'s novel ''[[The Tin Drum]]'' (1959).

===Safety===
It abounds with [[raphide]]s.{{sfn|Gulliver|1864|p=56}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite journal |date=1864 |first=George |last=Gulliver |author-link=George Gulliver |title=Observations on Raphides |pages=53-56 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22249503 |journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology: Third Series |volume=14}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Galium odoratum}}
* USDA plants profile
* [http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=286666&isprofile=1&basic=galium%20odoratum Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant Finder]
* {{PFAF|Galium odoratum}}

{{Herbs & spices}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q161090}}

[[Category:Galium|odoratum]]
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of Africa]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of France]]
[[Category:Flora of Western Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of Belgium]]
[[Category:Flora of Denmark]]
[[Category:Flora of Estonia]]
[[Category:Flora of Germany]]
[[Category:Flora of Greece]]
[[Category:Flora of Italy]]
[[Category:Flora of Latvia]]
[[Category:Flora of Lithuania]]
[[Category:Flora of Norway]]
[[Category:Flora of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Flora of Romania]]
[[Category:Flora of Canada]]
[[Category:Flora of the United States]]
[[Category:Flora of Spain]]
[[Category:Flora of Armenia]]
[[Category:Flora of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Flora of Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Flora of Russia]]
[[Category:Flora of Siberia]]
[[Category:Flora of Iran]]
[[Category:Flora of China]]
[[Category:Flora of Japan]]
[[Category:Groundcovers]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]