Aegopodium podagraria L., SE: Kirskål, DE: Giersch, NL: Zevenblad,
UK: Ground elder, Herb Gerard, Bishop's weed, Goutweed, Snow-in-the-mountain

Scientific name:		Aegopodium podagraria L.
Swedish name:		Kirskål
German name:		Giersch
Nederlandse naam:		Zevenblad
English name:		Ground elder, Herb Gerard, Bishop's weed, Goutweed, Snow-in-the-mountain
Family:		Apiaceae/Umbelliferae, Carrot or Parsley family, Flockblommiga växter

Life form:		Perennial, creeping rhizome
Stems:		Height 30-100cm, erect, hollow stems, upper part branching, base often reddish
Leaves:		Alternate; narrowly elliptic–ovate, base oblique, with serrated margins; stem leaves 3-lobed
Flowers:		Inflorescence a flat-topped compound umbel, secondary umbels 10–20; all umbels lacking bracts. The umbels of white flowers bearing a passing resemblance to the flowers of an Elder tree, the origin of this plant's common name. Petals 5, notched, tip recurved; calyx absent; stamens 5; pistil of 2 fused carpels, styles 2
Flowering Period:		June-August
Fruits:		Schizocarp
Habitat:		Damp soil and shady locations
Distribution:		Common to all types of cultivated land in the country, except in the mountain regions where it occurs more rarely

Derivation of the botanical name: Aegopodium, may come from Aix- or Aig-, goat, and "-podium", foot. podagraria, pod-, foot (a reference to the underground rhizomes), to which the term -agraria, meaning 'of cultivated land', is appended. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. At one time Aegopodium podagraria was also used in herbal remedies for arthritis and gout.