Woodruff

Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) is a low, shade-loving perennial ground cover with whorled leaves and tiny star-shaped white flowers. Fresh, its leaves have little scent, but drying releases a sweet, hay-like fragrance called coumarin — the same aromatic compound behind the traditional German May wine.

Growing Woodruff

Woodruff is one of the few culinary herbs that genuinely prefers shade, making it an excellent ground cover for a woodland garden or the shaded area beneath trees and shrubs where many other herbs struggle. It spreads steadily by rhizome to form a dense, attractive mat, and tolerates a range of soil pH better than most herbs.

Traditional Uses

Dried woodruff leaves are traditionally steeped in white wine to make May wine, a German spring tradition, their sweet, vanilla-hay fragrance developing only after drying and wilting slightly. Fresh woodruff has almost none of this characteristic scent, so recipes calling for it specifically use the wilted or dried leaf.