Canadian Honeywort

This is one of my favorite plants. It is my preferred replacement for goutweed, a non-native plant that can be very invasive. This plan...Read Moret is a pretty aggressive grower, but it does not spread horizontally by runners as much. It has a more clumping and somewhat more upright growth habit.

It is also edible and I love the smell and taste of the foliage; it is a little like celery, parsley, or cilantro, but has a sweetness to it and is considerably less bitter. The seeds also can be used as a spice, again, a little similar in flavor to the seeds of these plants.

I also like it because it is native to North America.

I wonder if the other person posting here has correctly identified this plant or not. I have seen this plant a lot, and it seems to spread more by seed, than by underground runners. It looks similar to Goutweed, which spreads aggressively by runners. The two plants are quite different and I strongly prefer this one.

The foliage of this plant is very nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed it when I first discovered it in the edge of my woodland. Unfortunately...Read More it moved like a green wave to overtake the shade/partial shade garden I have next to the woods. It spreads rigorously via runners, coming up through my ferns and hostas. Flowers are insubstantial. I finally identified it from Dick Young's Kane County Wild Plants & Natural Areas. It may be perfect as a woodland plant if you're not trying to encourage other woodland plants to flourish.