Goat's-rue

Goat’s-rue (Galega officinalis) is widely found on damp and waste ground in Great Britain. The alternative name of French lilac comes from the belief that the plant was introduced from France as an ornamental flowering plant but then escaped into the wild. Its origins actually lie in eastern and southern Europe, where it is grown as a fodder crop. 

It is often seen in derelict gardens where it swamps smaller plants and forms big bushy domes covered with white or lilac flowers. 

Goat’s-rue is an upright bushy plant that grows to between 24 and 57 inches (60-145 cm) in height. 

The leaves comprise stems with 4 to 12 pairs of leaflets with a single leaflet at the tip. In June and July the flowers appear, these being on upright spikes and lilac, pale pink or white in colour. The petals have a narrow, elongated base. 

The pods of the fruiting head are about one inch long, straight and smoothly rounded. There are several seeds to each pod.

© John Welford