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DROPWORT

Filipendula vulgaris

Rose Family [Rosaceae]  

month8may month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug

category
category8UnderShrubs
category
category8Evergreen
category
category8Broadleaf
status
statusZnative
flower
flower8white
 
inner
inner8cream
 
morph
morph8actino
 
petals
petalsZ6
(5-8)
stem
stem8round
 
smell
smell8Wintergreen
Wintergreen
toxicity
toxicityZmedium
 
sex
sexZbisexual
 

26th June 2019, sub-summit, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
A flush of Dropwort.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
On limestone grassland near the summit. Grows to 50cm high (up to 1m rarely)


26th June 2019, sub-summit, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Just a drop of Dropwort.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The stem branches near the top with a flurry of flowers.


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Un-opened flower buds are tinged rosy red with darker red sepals. The flower buds keep growing until they are much larger than their sepals (bottom bud).


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The stems are often brownish.


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The petals then open up, but the multitudinous stamens remain doubled over in the centre over the stigmas. The number of petals can vary, quite a lot it seems from this specimen. with 6, 7 and 8 petals, with the latter two more numerous than the supposedly dominant 6, at least on this specimen. Cupping the as-yet unopened flowers are 5 brown-tipped blunted sepal teeth (lower right corner).


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Stamens with anthers folded over in the centre mostly hiding the circle of stigmas.


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The long stamens then spring out with their numerous lemon-coloured anthers.


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Which reveals the lime-green stigmas in the centre.


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Lime-green stigmas (approx 12 in number) in centre revealed. The stamen filaments emerge amidst and beneath the stigmas in pairs.


18th June 2015, Little Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The petals are white and number six. Prominent numerous stamens bearing pale-yellow stamens and pollen.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
And a neat ring of 10-12 styles near the centre.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The petals are spaced out and between 5 and 9mm long. The (brownish) 5 sepal teeth are reflexed downwards.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Stem leaves clasp the stem.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The leaves are shiny, alternate, pinnate, with roughly jagged forwardly-directed teeth.


17th July 2014, limestone pavement, Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
Leaf held aloft by your Author so you can see it properly, it is otherwise hidden amongst the grass.. This is one leaf, and consists of two alternate sizes of leaflets, in (nearly) opposite pairs, up the stem (which is a typical arrangement of leaves in the Rosaceae family. There are between 8 to 30 pairs of main leaflets in a leaf, alternating with much smaller ones between them.


17th July 2014, limestone pavement, Gait Barrows, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
All leaflets are stalkless. The smaller ones are very much smaller than the larger ones. Smaller ones are basically 3-lobed. The larger leaflets much longer than broad and hug half-way around the stem, which here is angular. The leaves are without hairs (apart from the few whiskers at the ends) and glossy on top.


16th June 2009, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
Tips of leaves sprout a short whisker or two and now looking more like a cactus!


3rd July 2010, Photo: © RWD
The fruits are long (3-4mm), hairy, with 6-12 grouped together in a circle with creamy-white stigmas still attached at the tip. Some petals remain attached at the bottom of the fruits where also a few long filaments with creamy-coloured anthers now hang down.


26th June 2019, sub-summit, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The fruits arrange themselves into a splayed out (at between 0° to 45°) circle of about 6 to 12 fruits.


26th June 2019, sub-summit, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The fruit heads of the individual flowers.


26th June 2019, sub-summit, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
The creamy stigmas at the top emerge from a hairy, green tube. Presumably the achenes (with single seed within) are hidden by the green hairy tubes.


26th June 2019, sub-summit, Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales. Photo: © RWD
A side view. (Your Author does not know what the short white things at the base of the green tubes are unless they are the remnants of the dropped off petals but the 5 sepal teeth are reflexed beneath these).


Related to : Meadowsweet (it is in the same Genus).

Not to be confused with: Dripwort [a liverwort].

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

No relation to : Water-dropworts such as Parlsey Water-dropwort or Hemlock Water-Dropwort [plants with similar names] which are mostly extremely poisonous, whereas the leaves of Dropwort are edible when young.

Leaves slightly reminiscent of: Yarrow.

The plants name refers not to dropping down after consuming it, but to the large pea-sized drop-like tubers on its roots. The flowers are larger than those of Meadowsweet, and much less fuzzy in appearance. The plant is also much shorter than Meadowsweet, typically less than half the size. Dropwort prefers a chalky or limestone grassland whereas Meadowsweet likes to grow near water.

If crushed, the leaves and roots exude a small of Oil of Wintergreen, due to the release of Methyl Salicylate, which serves to attract beneficial insects and to kill those that dare try to eat it, for it is also toxic.


  Filipendula vulgaris  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Rosaceae  

Distribution
 family8Rose family8Rosaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Filipendula
Filipendula
(Meadowsweets)

DROPWORT

Filipendula vulgaris

Rose Family [Rosaceae]  

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