The Meadow-Sweet 



selves as waving white plumes, and justify the 

 country name of " Bridewort." In a somewhat 

 similar name, "Courtship and Matrimony," it is a 

 little difficult to catch the special allusion. As 

 "Maid of the Meadow" and "Maid of the Mead" 

 it is often known, while " Mede-sweet," " Meads- 

 weed," " Meadow- wort " and " Mead- wort " are yet 

 other names it carries. In some of the southern 

 counties cottage folk caU it " Meadow-soot " by a 

 curious inversion of sound and sense. An old 

 writer describes it prettily as " Medwurt, the herb 

 regina." 



The Meadow-sweet is one of the spiraeas, and 

 far more beautiful than some of those that are 

 better known to us through cultivation. There are 

 only two other spiraeas growing wild in Britain, 

 the little dropwort and the willow spiraea, but the 

 latter is almost certainly not a native plant. Long 

 before the flowers appear in mid-summer, the 

 Meadow-sweet adds charm to the meadows, for in 



quite early spring days the tall, reddish-tinted stems 



85 



