Giersch – have you ever heard of it? Gardeners are usually familiar with gopherweed and can easily identify it. Maybe there are also some wild plant lovers who like to collect gooseberry. But most other people don't know what it is about.
What is greed ash and what is it used for?
Gearweed is a wild plant that is known as a medicinal herb, food and weed. Giersch is used in naturopathy to relieve inflammation and tension. In the kitchen it can be used as a vegetable, herb or pesto. However, as a weed, greedweed is difficult to control.
Gearweed – wild herb, medicinal herb, food and weed
Giersch is actually a medicinal herb, a food, a weed and a wild herb, among other things. It belongs to the umbelliferous plant family and is often found in this country, for example in bushes, in deciduous forests and - to the chagrin of gardeners - in gardens.
This plant heralds spring, it blooms in summer and likes to grow next to nettles. In the past it was valued as a medicinal plant and used, among other things, for heart disease and gout. It was also a valuable food in times of famine.
An underrated medicinal herb
While people used to know about the power hidden in greed, today people walk past it blindly and don't know about its healing properties. The groundweed (and especially its leaves) has, among other things, anti-inflammatory, strengthening, detoxifying, deacidifying, diuretic and antispasmodic effects.
You can use the gourd - whether in fresh, dried or preserved in oil form, as a tincture, as a bath additive or as a poultice - for example:
- Toothache
- Tensions
- Rheumatism
- Gout
- cough
- Sniffles
- Burns and sunburns
Gardesh as food
Gerdweed can be used in the kitchen as a vegetable and as a herb. It is edible and tastes vaguely reminiscent of parsley when raw and of spinach when cooked. Not only can you eat the leaves, but also the flowers and seeds. The seeds taste spicy and the flowers are pleasantly sweet.
The leaves of the gourd can be prepared like spinach. They are also suitable for pestos, sauces, stews and smoothies. They are rich in vitamins and minerals. But admittedly: They are not to everyone's taste. However, if you want to treat yourself and would like something wild from outside to end up on the table, try the gourd!
A difficult weed to control
But this wild plant also has a negative side, which is especially apparent to those who value a well-kept, typically German garden. The groundweed, which can be recognized by its toothed, tripartite leaves and a triangular stem, forms underground runners.
With its runners, the greedweed can colonize into mass populations (hemicryptophyte). Even if he gets chopped up, he survives and shoots again and again. Fighting it is therefore a lengthy and often nerve-racking affair.
Tip
The gourd can also be found under the names of linseed, goat's foot, podagra herb and (botanically) Aegopodium podagraria.
