Aegopodium podagraria L. commonly called
ground elder,
herb gerard,
bishop's weed,
goutweed,
gout wort, and
snow-in-the-mountain, and sometimes called
English masterwort, and
wild masterwort, is a perennial plant in the carrot family (
Apiaceae) that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of
elder (
Sambucus), which is unrelated. It is the
type species of the genus
Aegopodium. This species is native to Eurasia, and has been introduced around the world as an ornamental plant, where it occasionally poses an ecological threat as an
invasive exotic plant.