Ground elder, Aegopodium podagraria, is a pernicious weed, and should not be allowed within 100 yards of your garden, as it’s almost impossible to eradicate once established. Ground elder is known by many names, including herb Gerard, snow-in-the-mountain, goutweed, and also Bishop’s weed. This is not the true Bishop’s weed, which is Ammi majus; ajowan is also sometimes called by this name. Ground elder is only distantly related to these, and it is not related to the elder at all.
It’s not difficult to recognize, and there is little chance of mistaking a poisonous plant for it, so long as you bear in mind that it has a triangular stem section (see left).
Ground elder will grow anywhere moist, even in full shade. Soil type and acidity are irrelevant. This weed is truly a born survivor. There’s nothing medicinally special about ground elder, so growing it is definitely an unnecessary risk. Do not grow it, even the variegated variety will cause you long term grief, because it will produce seedlings that are not variegated.
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