THE Plant

Historical Tidbits

Anise

One of the spices used to pay Roman taxes due to its valued flavor, fragrance, and medicinal properties.

Annual herb

Apple Blossom

"As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons."

The Song of Solomon 2:3

Basil

Still used as a sign of love in Italy, basil is a sacred herb to Krishna and Vishnu.

Bushy annual herb

Bay Laurel

The bay laurel used to be the nymph Daphne. That is before her father changed her into a tree to escape the never-ending advances of the sun God Apollo.

Aromatic evergreen tree

Betony

Regarded by the Egyptians as a magical herb it is now relegated to the role of an astringent.

Perennial herb to 3 ft.

Borage

This bringer of courage for many cultures throughout the ages was used by Celtic warriors to flavor wine before battle.

Self-seeding annual 2 ft.

Calendula

Named by the Romans who grew it for beauty’s sake, calendula was viewed as powerful magic in later centuries. Today you might consider enjoying the petals in your salad or using the flowers as an organic yellow vegetable dye.

Self-seeding annual

Chamomile

Drank by Peter Rabbit and humans for nerves and tummy aches, chamomile comes in two very different plant varieties. Roman chamomile is a low growing perennial which is much more aromatic than the tall annual German chamomile.

Chervil

Traditionally served as chervil soup on Holy Thursday because of its similarity in both fragrance and flavor to the myrrh given to baby Jesus by the wise men.

Hardy annuals in both flat and curly varieties

Chicory

Cultivated by Egyptians 5,000 years, chicory grows wild in abundance along the roads of America and has been known to impersonate coffee in times of need.

Chives

Originating in China, chives have been used for thousands of years in cooking. For centuries they were hung in doorways to drive off disease and evil.

Cinnamon

An ingredient in Egyptian embalming fluid

Colt’s Foot

Regarded as one of the best herbal cough remedies for over 2,000 years

Short perennial herb

Comfrey

Used as early as 400 B.C. by the Greeks as a healing herb, a debate currently rages as to its safety for internal use.

Hardy leafy perennial 3-5 ft

Coriander

A stinky herb,  named after the bedbug,  that ironically is used in many perfumes.

Annual 2-3 ft.

Dandelion

Used as early as the 10^th century as a food and medicinal herb.

Perennial herb/ lawn weed

Deadly Nightshade

Belladonna, related to tomatoes and eggplants, this plant possesses beautiful delicate flowers but is deadly poisonous. Minute amounts of leaf extracts are used in many of today’s powerful pharmaceuticals for diseases such as Parkinson’s and Whooping Cough.

Shrub like perennial with purplish stems and dainty bell shaped purple flowers. Yank it out!

Fennel

Used as an appetite suppressant for centuries, fennel comes in the green annual and bronze perennial varieties. Both are beautiful, taste of anise, and are completely edible.

4-5ft.

Flax

Flax, or linseed, valued by the gourmet, the physician, the painter, and the basket weaver. Mummies were wrapped in linens made from flax.

Foxglove

The source of digitalis used in heart medications and the cause of many deaths in humans attempting self-dosage as an herbal remedy. Grow for the flower’s beauty and leave the medical formulations to the pharmaceutical industries.

Biennial 5-8 ft.

Garlic

A proven antiseptic with antibiotic properties in addition to its usefulness in warding off creatures of the night.

Horehound

Named after Horus the Egyptian god of the sky and light, it is a ritual herb of Passover and still used to fight off winter sore throats.

Invasive perennial in the mint family

Juniper

Used in lawn ornamentation and as an ingredient of the gin essential for a good martini.  The ingenious Dutch invented Gin.

Evergreen shrubs and trees

Lavender

Used in Europe as a cough and digestive aid, but the bulk of the world's lavender goes to the perfume business.

Shrubs to 3-4 ft

Lemon Balm

The sacred herb of Diana, goddess of the moon and the hunt, it still grows wild around her temples in Greece. A fragrant relative of mint.

Perennial herb up to 6 ft given full sun.

Lemon Verbena

An enticing delicate fragrance made it the favorite of Scarlet O’Hara’s mother. Lovely in tea or biscuits.

Small deciduous shrub

Lovage

Grown in the gardens of Charlemagne, lovage makes an interesting replacement for celery.

Perennial herb 4-6 ft.

Madder

Important throughout history as a cloth dye until its replacement by chemical dyes in the twentieth century. Egyptian mummy wrappings were dyed in beautiful reds and oranges using madder.

Perennial herb 3-4 ft.

Marjoram

Sacred to Aphrodite the goddess of love

Tender perennial 1ft.

Mint

Invaluable in southern mint juleps (just add bourbon, crushed ice, and a spoon of sugar), Menthe was once a lovely nymph whom Pluto adored. Persephone, in a fit of jealous rage, changed poor Menthe into a plant.

Very hardy herb! Keep it in a pot or it will take over.

Mistletoe

Sacred to Celtic Druid priests and Oklahoma’s state flower, mistletoe grows on many trees but often favors the mighty oak.

Semi-parasitic shrubs

Myrrh

The goddess Myrrha, involved in a typical Greek tragedy, was saved from death by being transformed into a myrrh tree. When the tree is cut her tears flow as drops of resin used today in medicines and in the past as Egyptian embalming fluid.

Tree 7-10 ft.

Oak

"I saw in Louisiana a live oak growing. Alone stood it, and the moss hung down from its branches. Without any companion it stood there, uttering joyous leaves of dark green."

Walt Whitman

Oak

Sacred tree of the Druids and southerners

Parsley

Used in Roman orgies (or after) to hide the alcohol smell on the breath, by the Greeks in funerals, favored by Hercules in his garlands, used to repel head lice in the middle ages, and as an edible breath freshening garnish on modern American dinner plates.

3 common varieties/ perennial in mild climates

Passionflower

Claimed by the Catholic church’s early priests as a symbol of the crucifixion with the five sepals and five petals representing the ten apostles, the corona being Jesus’ crown of thorns and the five stamens as his nail wounds.

Plantain

One of the nine sacred herbs of ancient Saxons

Many deciduous species

Rose

Developed thorns after Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden. The red rose sprang from the blood droplets of the goddess Aphrodite who caught her foot on a rose thorn.

Rose

"He who would have beautiful Roses in his garden must have beautiful Roses in his heart."

 Dean Hole

Rose

"Won't you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you."

 Richard Sheridan

Rosemary

Rosemary for remembrance. Greek students (in Aristotle’s day) wove it in their hair for exam cramming, residents of the Middle Ages slept with it to keep away the demons, the rich perfumed their homes with its incense, and we enjoy it in a soothing warm bath, a fresh loaf of bread, and as a traditional friendship and wedding herb.

Evergreen perennial shrub 4-6ft.

Saffron

Saffron is the dark orange stigmata collected from crocus sativus. It takes a lot of crocus to yield a small sample, which is why the stuff is so damn expensive.

Crocus bulbs

Sage

Associated for eons with immortality and wisdom, the name comes from the Latin “salvation”.

Hardy perennial shrub

Saint John’s Wort

Associated with St. John the Baptist, its been used to protect homes from evil and drive out devils. Don’t step on it at twilight or the fairies may carry you off. Today it is popular as an herbal anti-depressant.

Hardy perennial with invasive tendencies

Thyme

"Young fairies perched in rosemary branches while their elders danced in the Thyme."

Vernon Quinn

Thyme

Thymus- Greek for courage

Perennial shrub 1ft.

Valerian

Attracts rats and intoxicates cats. It is not certain whether the feline intoxication is due to the plant itself or the excitement resulting from seeing the attracted rats.

200 perennial species/ all with offensive odor

Vervain

A plant considered sacred and ancient even by ancient Egyptians. As Isis wept over the dead Osiris,  vervain grew from her fallen tears. Druids collected vervain only on moonless nights.

Willow

Used throughout recorded history for their medicinal properties, willow trees were the original source of “aspirin” which is now synthetically produced. They are not native to the Americas and the first American willows were grown from English cuttings.

Over 500 species from 2in. to 80ft.

Yarrow

Its pollen has been identified in Neanderthal burial sites over 65,000 yeas old. Apparently our love affair with flowers is an innate human trait of long standing tradition.

Perennial flowering herb