Yellow avens, Aleppo avens
Geum aleppicum

Family: Rosaceae

What it is like

A small herb. It grows 50 cm high and spreads 40 cm wide. The leaves are made up of several pairs of toothed leaflets. They grow on opposite sides of the stem. There is one leaflet at the end. The leaves have 5-11 segments. Each one is 10 cm long. They have fine teeth. The flower stem is upright and branching. The flowers have 5 yellow petals. They occur in groups on stalks. The flowers are yellow to orange. They are 18 mm wide. The seeds are hairy and in a tight cluster. Each one has a hook at the tip.

There are about 40-50 Geum species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in wetlands and meadows. In China it grows between 200-3,500 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 3-9. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, North America, SE Asia, Slovenia, USA, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The young plant is used as a potherb. The leaves may be used to flavour soups. The roots are used for tea.

Edible parts

Leaves, roots - tea

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Ke, Kopata

Synonyms

Geum aleppicum var. bipinnatum (Batalin) F. Bolle ex Hand.-Mazz.; Geum aleppicum subsp. strictum (Aiton) R. T. Clausen; Geum intermedium Besser ex M. Bieb.; Geum potaninii Juz.; Geum strictum Aiton; Geum vidalii Franch. & Sav.;