Wood Avens

Geum urbanum

Plant Data

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae (Rose)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

Yellow, 5 petals on long stalk.

Fruit:

Hooked fruit forming a bur-like head, bronze-tipped.

Leaves:

The lower leaves are pinnate with the terminal leaflet being much the largest. Stem leaves are smaller and trefoil.

Maximum Size:

50cm tall.

Foraging Notes:

The roots are edible when cooked and can be used in stews, soups, ale, and can also be boiled to make a beverage. The roots can also be used as a substitute for cloves with a slight taste of cinnamon.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Aroma:

The roots smell of cloves when crushed.

Other Names:

Bennet's Root, Colewort, Goldy Star, Herb Bennet, Old Man's Whiskers, St. Benedict's Herb, Way Bennet.

Habitats:

Hedgerows, scrub, woodland.