Thymely Information
~ ubmitted by Fran Hedeman,
S
Herb Society of Dubuque
Happy new growing season to you all. We are excited to introduce you to some
new plants in the Formal Herb Garden. Some are very old with interesting
histories and others are new cultivars of well-known species.
Students of English history probably remember the famous
or infamous Queen Boudica and her blue-skinned warriors.
I won’t tell you how many men she was reputed to have
killed but I can tell you that her blue-skinned warriors
wore a paste made of fermented WOAD (Isatis tinctoria)
leaves. Woad is both a dyers’ herb and a medicinal herb,
so look for it in both the back bed and in the medicinal
quadrant. We are delighted to have found seed for this
ancient herb and pleased that the Green Team was able to
germinate seed and grow plants for us.
and bears gold and red flower heads. The flowers first look
like a small daisy but later resemble a yellow olive with a
bright red center. This blossom has also been given the
nickname “eyeball plant.” Toothache plant is an herb used
in folk medicine throughout India. Of primary medicinal
use are the roots and flowers. Chewing on the blooms of
the toothache plant causes a local anesthetic effect and
has been used to temporarily ease the pain of toothache.
If you chew on a leaf you will feel a numbing sensation
in your mouth. The flowers are even stronger. If you are
really adventuresome you can tear a few leaves up in your
salad.
Medicinally, woad leaves can be used as an antiseptic and
a styptic so they served the warriors of the Iceni tribe, not
only as war paint but also as a way of stopping bleeding
and, perhaps, preventing infection in their wounds. Woad
is poisonous and cannot be taken internally, but historically
a poultice of leaves was placed on an open wound to stop
bleeding. We don’t foresee any upcoming battles in the
Herb Garden but we will enjoy having an example of this
ancient plant in the medicinal garden. We actually selected
it as a plant to be featured in our dyers’ bed and learned
about its medicinal properties later.
Toothache plant is tropical so be sure you check it out this
summer just in case our seed-saving plan doesn’t produce
more plants for us next year.
LEMON MINT MONARDA (Monarda citriodora) is a
new-to-our-garden monarda. It is reputed to make a tasty
tea so look for it in the tea quadrant. It has a lavender/
pink bloom, sweet smell and attracts bees and butterflies.
Some sources say it is hardy in our zone but it is also
listed as an annual. Again, we will try to save seed. We
are also planting monarda-panorama mix which we hope
will produce a variety of colors ranging from scarlet to
pink to purple. Although this mix is quite old it is new to
our garden. The common name for monarda is bee balm
and a tea from the spicy leaves of this plant is known as
Oswega Tea. This is the plant used as a tea substitute by
the colonists after the Boston Tea Party. Some think it
resembles Earl Grey tea in taste. The flowers are edible
and can be sprinkled on salads or used as a garnish. Both
the leaves and blooms contain thymol-related antibioticantiseptic compounds. Interestingly, when crushed the
leaves make an effective insect repellent. Some varieties
are listed as annuals and others as perennials but as it is
in the mint family, note the square stem, and expect it to
spread.
Woad was the principal blue dye in Europe for over 2,000
years. In medieval times there were important woadgrowing regions in England, Germany and France. Towns
such as Toulouse became prosperous from the woad trade.
In the mid-1580s Queen Elizabeth I set forth a proclamation
against the growing of woad because the land was needed
for crop production to stave off famine. She recalled the
order in 1601 but would not allow production near any
of her homes due to the noxious smell of the processing.
Woad is traditionally used to dye yarns and fabrics blue but
pinks can be produced by using young leaves with alum
as a mordant. The process of extracting the dye is quite
complicated so we won’t be setting up production, but we
hope to produce a small sample in 2016.
Woad is a biennial that puts out large bluish green leaves
the first year and a 3-foot flower stalk the second year.
The flowers are yellow and reputed to be quite attractive.
Woad reportedly self-seeds, so if our plants survive the
winter we may have a large crop in 2017.
Last, but not least, check out the culinary quadrant for
examples of both summer and winter savory, the 2016 Herb
of the Year. See the previous issue of the Ground Cover for
information on this interesting and tasty herb.
Another new plant for the medicinal garden is
TOOTHACHE PLANT (Acmella Oleracea). It is a
member of the Asteraceae (aster) family. It is grown as an
ornamental and is used as a medicinal remedy in various
parts of the world. A small, erect plant, it grows quickly
REFERENCES
Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
www.woad-inc.co.uk/history.html
www.gardeningknowhow.com
www.seedaholic.com/monarda-didyma-panorama-mix.html
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