Friday, August 29, 2008

Motherwort

"According to the early writers, there was no better herb than Motherwort for "strengthening and gladdening the heart.""

- Maida Silverman (1977) A City Herbal: Lore, Legend, & Uses of Weeds

I have been treating it like a noxious weed. Who knew?

Leonuris cardiaca
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5 comments:

  1. ElizabethAugust 29, 2008 at 9:00 AM

    Motherwort is kingsfoil?

    ReplyDelete
  2. OrthoclaseAugust 29, 2008 at 10:23 AM

    Tolkien probably stole the idea of kingsfoil (athelas) from Motherwort.

    Originality was never his strong point.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElizabethAugust 29, 2008 at 10:36 AM

    Nihil novi sub sole.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OrthoclaseAugust 29, 2008 at 12:51 PM

    There is nothing new under the sun?

    ReplyDelete
  5. ElizabethAugust 29, 2008 at 12:54 PM

    There sure isn't. There are no original stories, so expecting a storyteller to be original is silly. What really matters is what the storyteller does with the story.

    ReplyDelete