Lady’s mantle 

Lady’s mantle catches the eye and makes you want to take a closer look. Many recognise the plant from its folded young leaves and the drops of dew resting on the leaves. Lady’s mantle is an edible wild herb and its leaves and flowers can be used for various purposes. The plant also looks great in a vase and it is suited for plant dyeing. 

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla spp.) is a 10–50 cm tall herbaceous perennial. The leaves of a young plant are sharply folded, like a pleated skirt. When they open, they resemble gingerbread cookies and make it easy to recognise the genus Alchemilla. There are about 30 species of lady’s mantle in Finland. They look nearly identical, with the only differences found in the hairiness, firmness and taste of the leaves. The small, yellow-green flowers appear above the foliage in May-August. 

Lady’s mantle grows in nature and at sites with historical human activity. It is a common plant throughout the country and thrives in various habitats, such as meadows, gardens and roadsides. 

Forage in shady areas 

The leaves of lady’s mantle can be foraged from early spring until flowering. The taste varies from mild to sour. You will find the best-tasting leaves in shady or half-shade habitats. Taste the leaves when harvesting them to find the best ones. We recommend removing the leafstalks. If you have wild lady’s mantle growing in your garden, cherish it! It can also be grown as an ornamental plant or cultivated for food. If you remove the flowers, the plant will produce new leaves until autumn. 

Wide range of uses 

The young, folded leaves can simply be washed and added to salads or sandwiches. Older leaves are usually cooked or dried before use. The leaves are great for soups, stews, vegetable patties, pies and doughs, for example. Dried leaves can be used for herb seasoning, chlorophyll powder and, in small quantities, in bread and roll dough. The flowers and seeds can be turned into seasoning. The leaves and flowers are used to garnish flood, added to flower bouquets or dried for flower arrangements. If you wish to freeze the leaves, remember to briefly boil them first. 

The magic of dew drops 

When the sun rises in the summer, the leaves of lady’s mantle often sparkle with drops of water. The bitter-tasting drops are either a liquid secreted by the plant or dew or rain drops collected by the leaves. The Latin name of lady’s mantle, Alchemilla, reminds us of how alchemists used the drops on the leaves in their attempts to transform iron or lead into gold. People also believed that the drops held the secret to eternal youth and had the power to cure disease. While lady’s mantle is not all-powerful, it is still considered a medicinal plant due to its tannins. 

The plant yields yellow or pale-green colour for plant dyeing. 

Other species 

The garden lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) comes from the mountains of Southeast Europe and Southwest Asia. The species was introduced in Finland as a garden plant, and it is a popular ornamental perennial around the country. It is larger than most other species of lady’s mantle and it is also edible. We recommend choosing wild lady’s mantle for your garden as the garden lady’s-mantle is an invasive alien species. It spreads easily and can be harmful in nature. Invasive alien species planted in gardens must not be allowed to spread in nature. If you have garden lady’s-mantle growing in your garden, be sure to check that it cannot spread into the environment.