Master Gardener Ann Bartlett says she's taking a break from garden tasks this winter to "wade around in the bog of botany."
She says that the names of plants reveal something about our past relationships with them, and she started by thinking about common plant names that include "wort."
Have you ever wondered why there are so many plants with wort in their names? Until recently, I assumed that all the worts must have been medieval medicinal plants—and indeed many were. But the word wort is the Old English term for vegetable or herb.
Our old pal Linnaeus thought the foliage of moneywort looked like coins, and the name stuck. He named fumewort for its flower shape. Pearlwort has small translucent white flowers, and the flowers of bellwort look like bells.
Folk tradition taught that bees gathered wax to make honeycombs from cerinthe. Thus, cerinthe has the common name honeywort. This annual plant is worth growing. Its unique flowers are held within pendulous bracts. It’s about 18 inches tall and wide. I’ve never seen plants in a garden center, so you’ll have to look for seeds of this plant.
The ancient Greeks thought the leaves of lungwort looked like diseased lungs. They took that as a sign from Olympus that the plant was useful for treating lung problems. Feltwort (mullein) has wooly leaves. European settlers brought it to America because asthma sufferers smoked the dried flowers and roots for symptom relief. It must have worked because Native Americans quickly began smoking it for respiratory problems.
Soapwort (Arizona soapwort shown at left) leaves contain sapogenic glycosides (organic chemicals used in soaps, medicines, and cosmetics). Soaking crushed soapwort leaves in water makes a liquid detergent used today to clean antique tapestries. The ancient Greeks used it as a diuretic.
In Europe mugwort (Atemesia vulgaris) was seen as a magically protective herb associated with John the Baptist. The Lakota believed North American native mugwort wormwood (aka sagewort, shown at right) had the spiritual power to drive away evil. Both herbs were used as insect repellents.
Looking for a multi-purpose cure-all? The ancient Greeks used ribwort tea to treat fever, cough, diarrhea, and hemorrhoids, as well as snake and insect bites. Catswort is so named because it is irresistible to cats. Tea made from catswort leaves has been used (even into the modern era) to treat ailments ranging from indigestion and diarrhea to arthritis, headaches, and hives. It was also used for fevers and coughs and as an insect repellent.
Motherwort, as the name implies, was used to treat many female health issues, cardiac problems, high blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. Spiderwort tea was also used to treat a variety of female complaints as well as kidney and stomach problems. It may have gotten its name because it was used as a poultice to treat spider bites.
St John’s Wort is now thought of as an alternative mood stabilizer. In medieval times, it was harvested on St. John’s Day, June 24th, and then hung in homes to ward off evil, much as the Druids used mistletoe.
“Wort” sounds like “wart” and rhymes with “hort,” as in horticulture. Worts were named for their appearance, use, or associations. These plants give us a unique window into past relationships between people and plants.