Tansy -- Tanacetum Vulgare
While the landscape assumes the unmistakable traces of autumn, wildflowers persist in highlighting the woodland edges and roadsides. Looking much like a sunflower which has lost or forgotten its petals, the tansy, another member of the aster family and yet another Eurasian native comfortably finding a home in North America is one of the autumn stalwarts. It also possesses one of the more fascinating histories I've found, a few examples of its ancient and varied uses recited here.
Common tansy and related species have been used for centuries as a type of embalming used to ward off worms and insects. It was packed into coffins, wrapped in funeral winding sheets, and tansy wreaths were placed on the dead. By the 19th century the use of tansy at funerals was so prevalent in New England that people began to despise tansy for its mournful and morbid association with death. Its use as an insect repellant has been confirmed and is still used today in conjunction with other elements.
During the Middle Ages and later, high doses were used to induce abortion and warnings exist today relative to its possibility of causing miscarriage. It truly is fascinating how much of the herbal lore from centuries past has been found to have application (in some part) yet today.
Long associated with Lent, tansy cakes were superstitiously served to prevent intestinal worms brought on by eating fish. It was also thought to have the added Lenten benefit of controlling flatulence brought on by days of eating fish, beans, and peas....a malady I did not realize was confined to this season...
Tansy -- Tanacetum Vulgare
While the landscape assumes the unmistakable traces of autumn, wildflowers persist in highlighting the woodland edges and roadsides. Looking much like a sunflower which has lost or forgotten its petals, the tansy, another member of the aster family and yet another Eurasian native comfortably finding a home in North America is one of the autumn stalwarts. It also possesses one of the more fascinating histories I've found, a few examples of its ancient and varied uses recited here.
Common tansy and related species have been used for centuries as a type of embalming used to ward off worms and insects. It was packed into coffins, wrapped in funeral winding sheets, and tansy wreaths were placed on the dead. By the 19th century the use of tansy at funerals was so prevalent in New England that people began to despise tansy for its mournful and morbid association with death. Its use as an insect repellant has been confirmed and is still used today in conjunction with other elements.
During the Middle Ages and later, high doses were used to induce abortion and warnings exist today relative to its possibility of causing miscarriage. It truly is fascinating how much of the herbal lore from centuries past has been found to have application (in some part) yet today.
Long associated with Lent, tansy cakes were superstitiously served to prevent intestinal worms brought on by eating fish. It was also thought to have the added Lenten benefit of controlling flatulence brought on by days of eating fish, beans, and peas....a malady I did not realize was confined to this season...