Gaelic Garden
A wee early draft booklet I prepared for helping create a "Gaelic Garden" with Fearnag Growers Community Garden in Farr.
Agrimony
Poyntzfield - (Mur-dhraidhean) Agrimonia eupatoria P 45cm. Bears small yellow flower spikes, yielding a yellow dye. Makes a gargle for coughs and externally in a lotion for wounds. Sow the seeds outside in the autumn.
Mary Beith –
mur-druidheann, muir-droighinn, mùr-dhroigheann, a’gheurag bhileach
“This plant was used to some extent in the Gaelic folk tradition by way of an infusion of the dried leaves for ‘open obstructions of the liver’, and it was included in the extensive and sometimes exotic pharmacopoeia of the medieval Highland physicians – being used, for example, in the treatment of liver problems and as an ingredient in compounds for ‘correcting imbalances in various humours’. I have taken a certain liberty in the third of its Gaelic names, since Cameron’s Gaelic Names of Plants gives mur-druidheann, with an accompanying and somewhat fanciful – interpretation as ‘sorrow of the druids’ and Dwelly gives muir-dhroighinny which would seem to translate ‘sea-bramble’, as well as mur-dhroighinn. Since agrimony is a plant known to thrive best in the shelter of hedges and walls, mùr seems the most acceptable Gaelic description. Droigheann is more of a problem since it stands for ‘thorn’ or ‘bramble’ and agrimony is certainly neither of these. However, its seeds are of a prickly, clinging burr-type and it is possible that here droighinn describes the ’thorny’ burr.
Maclennan’s Dictionary gives something quite different: a’gheurag bhileach. This term, literally ‘the sharp-pointed or bitter-tasting-leafed one” is the most accurate either way you look at it – agrimony has sharply serrated leaves and they taste bitter. Agrimony is predominantly a southern plant in the British Isles, becoming increasingly rare the further north of Hadrian’s Wall one goes. This would not have been a problem in medieval times when it formed part of the official pharmacopoeia, since many alien plants were either imported or grown in special herb gardens. (Later folk healers tended to rely on easily acquired local plants about which they were extremely knowledgeable, often, out of need, finding uses for them which were unknown elsewhere.) ITs links with medicine and magic can be traced to Mithridates Eupator (hence A. eupatoria), a king of ancient Bithynia and Pontus (Anatolia), who was a skilled herbalist and said to use agrimony as an antidote to poisons.
The Colour Cauldron: THe History and use of natural dyes in Scotland
Parts used – flowinging tops
Dye colour – “butter”
The small, yellow flowers of this plant are born on tall, slender spikes arising from a mass of spreading pinnate leaves. At maturity the flowers develop a small but distninct splash of purple.
THe flowering tops were used in July. Dye extraction was very thorough, being continued until the plant material was soft and pulpy. The dyebath was then strained and cooled, and alum mordanted yarn added. After heating for only 30 minutes a yellow dye of considerable beauty was achieved; lacking the harshness and acidity of most yellow dyes, it has a golden richness.
Flora Scotica (1777) -
On the borders of fields and under hedges
THe leaves make a pleasant tea, said to be serviceable in hoemorrhagies, and in obstructions of the liver and spleen. The country people also use them sometimes by way of cataplasm in contusion and fresh wounds
Betony
Poyntzfield
(Lus bheathag) Stachys / Betonica officinalis. P 30cm. Deep green toothed leaves and two lipped purple-red flowers. Used in herbal medicine for example to help combat nervous exhaustion, anxiety and headaches. Semi-shaded site.
Mary Beith –
Lus beathaig
A medicinal herb known, according to Pliny, to the ancient Celts who made great use of it as a nerve tonic – and a cure and preventive for drunkenness and hangovers. I was said to be especially useful for treating headaches – whether or not caused by over-indulgence in alchohol. Its leaves were sometimes eaten as a salad and a tea was made of it for everyday use. Since it grows best in woodlands in limestone areas which are rare in the Highlands, its widespread use in Gaelic medicine suggests that it was specially cultivated in herb gardens.
The ointment of ‘crushed St John’s wort, betony and golden rod mixed in butter and grease applied to wounds’, referred to by many commentators, originates from a remedy quoted by Martin Martin. However, the “betonica Pauli” he mentions was the term used in his day for the germander speedwell.
Cameron – Gaelic Plant Names
Lus bheathaig from Beatha.
“A precious herb, comfortable both in meat and medicine” (Culpepper). Glasair choille, the wood salad. The green leaves were used as a salad: any kind of salad was called glasag or Glasair.
Flora Scotica –
In woods and on dry banks, but not common
THe roots in a small dose have an emetic quality, and the powder of the dry’d plant is a good Errhine, and readily promotes sneezing
Bistort
Poyntzfield –
(Bilur) Persicaria bistorta P 60cm. Fresh pink flowers and broad leaves that form part of a north country Easter pudding. The root contains astringent properties. Moist, shaded site.
Mary Beith –
Glùineachd an uisge, glùineag dhearg, luibh an uisge
This small reddish flower that trails among corn and potatoes was used for urinary complaints, with, it is claimed, good results. It was among the pot-herbs advised by the Beaton physicians for a summer diet.
Bogbean
Poynzfield - BOGBEAN (Tri Bhilean) Menyanthes trifolata P 45cm. Native aquatic herb with pink-white flowers and three-lobed leaves which give us a bitter tonic medicine, still popular in the outer Hebridean Isles
Mary Beith –
Lus nan laogh, trìhhileach, pònair chapaill, mìlsean monaidh
One of the most highly valued plants, a tonic made from the bogbean is still used in parts of the Western Isles. Barbara Fairweather gives a recipe that was in use in Glencoe village within living memory: “The plant was put in a stone jar and simmered on the old range. The resulting water was drunk as a spring tonic. Sometimes the stems were boiled for two hours, pulped, left to cool, the liquid strained and bottled for winter. A teaspoon three times a day for a persistent cough was most effective.
In Lewis the ribbed side of the leaf was said to be good for drawing out pus, and the smooth side for healing. In Badenoch where the plant, known in the district’s Gaelic as the Luibh Mhòr (big herb), was the most highly prized medicinal herb, the root was used as a stomachic bitter and tonic in all cases of convalescence and debility. A homemade beer was in use in which bogbean took the place of hops, and was stored away to be used when required. A fresh infusion, about four ounces of dried root to an imperial pint of water, was the most popular form, and of this a wineglassful was taken generally before meals.
There was a great faith in the bogbean as a remedy for all manner of stomach pains, particularly those caused by ulcers. The root was chopped and simmered in water and the strained liquid was drunk. A similar decoction was given to strengthen weak stomachs. The juice of the roots was also taken for tuberculosis. For boils and skin eruptions, especially those on the back of the neck once suffered by fishermen as a result of friction from nets, creels and ropes, a poultice of bogbean leaves was applied to the sore and the juice was drunk to clear the blood. A pain in the side following jaundice was treated with a mixture of boiled wild raspberry, wild mint and bogbean. In Uist bogbean was taken for constipation. Animals who had a blockage through overeating were also fed bogbean. In addition to all the foregoing uses, Lewis people say it is good for asthma and heart problems as it “helps to open up the tubes.”
Colour Cauldron
Part used – leaves
Colour – olive yellow
Growing in wet bogs, this plant finds plenty of suitable habitats in the Scottish Highlands. It is easily distinguished from other plants of similar habitat by its upright stance and leathery, trifoliate leaves. In May and June these leaves are graced by spikes of pink and white fringed flowers. The plant has been noted for its medicinal properties for many centuries.
Leaves were gathered in August, and boiled until limp before being strained. Alum mordanted yarn was entered and kept very hot for 45 minutes. Soda was added to the dyebath during dyeing which strengthened and greened the colour considerably.
Bog Myrtle
Rideag, Roid
BOG MYRTLE (Rideag) Myrica gale P 90cm. 'Sweet Gale'. Deciduous shrub with aromatic foliage utilised for flavouring beer or in pot-pourri, linen bags and repelling insects. Bog garden with acidic soil.Sow the seeds outside in the autumn.
Beith
Credited with the power of keeping away mischievious fairies, it was once used as a substitute for hops on flavouring beer and is also said to have some effect in keeping summer insects at bay. It was probably more effective as a domestic ‘strewing herb” on floors, helping to deter household pests, bugs and fleas. In Islay and Jura it was used as a garnish for food and for storing with linen as a means of driving away moths and finely scenting the cloth. In many areas an infusion of the leaves was used for worming children.
Colour cauldron
Parts used – Leaves
Colour – signal yellow
Twigs of bog myrtle were gathered in September and hung in an airy place to dry (the plant can also be used fresh). The dried leaves were stripped from the branches and boiled for about 1 hour, the liquid then being strained off. Alum mordanted yarn was entered into the dye liquid; the dye uptake was very rapid.
IF the branches are boiled with the leaves, the tannin content of the dye will be higher and the dye more golden. Longer boiling will be needed to allow the wood to soften and the tannin to be extracted.
Good green dyes cab be made on mordants of ferrous or copper sulphate.
The Gaelic Names of Plants
It is used for numerous purposes by the Highlanders, e.g. as a substitute for hops; for tanning; and from its supposed efficacy in destroying insects, beds were strewed with it, and even made of the twigs of gale. And to this day it is employed by the Irish for the same purpose by those who know its efficacy. The rideog is boiled and the tea or juice drank by children to kill ‘the worms.’
Borage
BORAGE (Borrach) Borago officinalis A 75cm. Brilliant blue flowers loved by bees. The cucumber flavoured leaves flavour drinks, and the flowers brighten salads. The seed oil is used to produce a health supplement.
Beith
The Latin borago is probably derived from the Celtic root borso-s, meaning ‘proud’. The Early Irish was borr, meaning proud or swaggering. There was an old saying: Ego Borago, gauda semper ago (I Borage, always bring joy/ courage). Alastair Maclean, a native of Mull and father of the thriller writer of the same name, wrote of its use in the Hebrides ‘…. And borage was the courage-giver. Out of it they brew one of the great four cordials. Whoever drunk it drew his sword and though ten men no match for him.”
Butterbur (white)
BUTTERBUR (Gallan mòr) Petasites albus P RR 30cm. White-pink early spring clustered flowers. The root is used to treat several chest problems. Moist shaded site.
Beith
Used in case of fever and dropsy
Coltsfoot
Claus Liath
COLTSFOOT Tussilago farfara P 20cm. Leaf and flower give us a remedy for coughs and externally for sores. A plant for the wild garden only.
Beith –
The dried leaves were smoked in clay pipes to relive asthma, and the fresh leaves, juice or syrup were all taken for a dry cough. Barbara Fairweather, who has collected a great deal of local history and folklore pf the Glencoe area, notes in her useful booklet Highland Plant Lore that the dried leaves were considered ‘best for rheums.’
Gaelic Names of Plants –
The leaf, dipped in saltpetre and then dried, made excellent tinder or touchwood. Gaelic and Irish: fathan or athan, meaning fire. It was used for lighting fire. THe leaves were smoked before the introduction of tobacco, and still form the principle ingredient in the British herb tobacco.
Colour Cauldron –
Part used – leaves
Colour – Naples Yellow
Leaves were collected when fully formed but not mature (which is usually May/ June in Scotland). They were boiled until limp, then the alum mordanted yarn was added to the strained liquid and left until well coloured.
Cowslip
Mùisean
COWSLIP (Muisean) Primula veris/officinalis P 20cm. Cheerful yellow-orange spring and autumn flowers. For winemaking, in skin lotions or in medicine.Sow the seeds in the autumn outside.They are now available by the gram,for example 2 grams for £6.50, 5 grams for £14.00.
Beith –
Writing in 1924, Angus MacFarlane says that though botanists claim the cowslip is unknown in the Highlands, he has found it to grow abundantly in north Sutherland. The Caithness and Sutherland office of Scottish Natural Heritage has confirmed that it does grow in several localities in the county. Its best-known use was as a cosmetic preparation for the skin.
Gaelic names of plants –
Muisean, the low rascal, the devil. “A’choire mhuiseanaich,” a dell full of cowslips. Cattle refuse to eat it, therefore farmers dislike it. Bròg na cubhaig, the cukoo’s shoe.
It was formerly boiled, and ‘an ointment or distilled water was made from it, which addeth much to beauty, and taketh away spots and wrinkles of the skin, sun-burning and freckles, and adds beauty exceedingly.” THe name means the ‘skin-purifier.” Bainne bò bhuidhe, the yellow cow’s milk. Bainne bò bleacht, the milk-cow’s milk.
Figwort
Torranan, lus nan cnapan
FIGWORT Scrophularia nodosa P 60cm. Native perennial with numerous medicinal applications but mainly for skin problems. Small yellow flowers.
Beith –
Used as an infusion for scrofulous diseases and an application for piles.
The torranan, a flowering plant growing on rocky hillsides, the bloom of which is large and pap-like, is also used as a charm for this purpose [against the effects of the Evil Eye], and is said to be very efficacious if culled during the flow of the tide,’ Dr S Rutherford MacPhail reported to the Caledonian Medicine Society a hundred years ago.
The various reports of this plant baffle me. The most detailed account if it is given in Carmina Gadelica, but the flower described seems most like that of a wild carrot’s full blown umbel with its (occasional) central purplish floret resembling a nipple on a breast, while the root ‘a cluster of four bulbs like the four teats of a cow’ is something else. Carmichael translates torranan as ‘figwort’, yet this plant has rather insignificant dark red flowers although it has a nodular root.
Foxglove
Lus nam bansìth {fairy women’s plant}
FOXGLOVE (Lus nam ban sith) Digitalis purpurea Bi 90cm. Purple bell-shaped flowers enjoyed by bumble bees. Contains a poisonous substance - Digitalin, used as a heart stimulant.Sow the seeds in a corner or in the wild garden ..
Beith –
In Gaelic traditional medicine the use of foxgloves as a remedy for dropsy (fluid swelling which can be a symptom of certain cardiac problems) probably followed in the wake of Br William Withering’s famous discovery of an English folk cure for the problem in 1785. In the Highlands foxgloves were generally used for a variety of other conditions.
THe direct application of the moistened leaves to the skin proved a valuable remedy for the ‘rose’ (ròs) – a term which covered any erythematous condition of the skin, from simple erythema and eczema to true erysipelas. Floxglove leaves were also considered an excellent application for boils.
An old woman in Kilmonivaig, Inverness-shire made the following cure from a recipe she had from her mother and which is preserved in a hand-written note at the Highland Folk Museum, Kingussie: ‘For a man in great pain from internal growth or swelling, a pulp was made from squashed foxglove roots, then applied inside flannel, after the pulp had been heated, as a poultice to the swelling. The man received immediate relief, and continued to do so until the cure was completed.
In the Braes of Lochaber chopped foxglove leaves and butter and garlic or onion heated were deemed ‘good for drawing things, good for bad knees and for diptheria – as a poultice on the knees, neck, and so on.”
Flora scotica –
Six or seven spoonfuls of the decoction is a strong emetic and cathartic. It has been found serviceable in scrophulous cases, taken internally for some time and bruised leaves or an ointment applied outwardly
Gaelic names for plants-
Meuran sìth – The fairy thimble. Sìthich, a fairy, the most active sprite in Highland and Island mythology.
Meuran nan daoine marbh, dead men’s thimbles.
Meuran nan cailleacha marbha, dead women’s thimbles.
In Skye it is called cìochan nan cailleacha marbha, the dead old women’s pap.
Colour cauldron-
Part Used – Flowering Tops
Dye Colour – Primary Yellow, Olive
THe tops of the plants, together with some leaves were gathered when in full flower. They were boiled until the plants were thoroughly softened and limp. When strained, alum mordanted yarn was added to the liquid and heated until a good yellow dye had been achieved. The use of iron mordanted yarn was found to give ‘olive’.
A member if the same family is common figwort, which will produce colour “Yellow olive” on an alum mordant an with the addition of soda to the dye bath. Due to the distressing aroma of this plant it is use is not strongly recommended.
Ground Ivy
Iadhshlat thalmhainn
GROUND IVY (Nathair lus) Glechoma hederacea P 10cm. Aromatic creeping ivy-like foliage and blue-violet flowers in spring. Has many curative properties including those for bronchial and digestive problems. Ground cover for shaded spots.
Beith –
In some parts a tea was made from ground ivy, sweetened with honey, and taken two or three times a day for consumption and coughs. Snuff was made from the dried leaves and used for asthma and headaches. Tradition has it that it was excellent for snake bites.
Gaelic names for plants –
Nathaír-lus, the serpent weed – it being supposed to be efficacious against the bites of serpents; hence the generic name.
It was formerly used for hops to make ale bitter, hence the name ‘ale-hoof.’ It is a creeping, trailing plant with ivy-like leaves and a small blue flower, very common as a garden weed. “It was used for purifying the blood, and for coughs.”
Flora Scotica –
Under Hedges and in shady places frequent
The juice of infusion of this herb has been recommended in gravelly and astmatic complaints, but the success has not been found to answer the recommendation in any great degree
Herb Robert
Lus an ròis
HERB ROBERT (Lus and Rois) Geranium robertianum PE 40cm. Native biennial or perennial with palmate divided aromatic foliage followed by small pink flowers. The leaves can be used externally for skin healing and internally for gum and throat issues.
It was believed at one time to be a potent remedy for erysipelas and skin cancer. A man in the lochend district of Inverness-shire was still prescribing it in the 1920s, and maintained he had cured several people with it.
The Kinguise pharmacist, Alexander McCutcheon, wrote in 1919:
Herb Robert, or lus nan Eallain or Righeal Cúil, to give it its Gaelic names [presumably for the Badenoch area], was a very popular remedy and highly spoken of. The Gaelic means ‘plant for the hives’, thus indicating its remedial properties. The entire plant was cut up into small pieces, and infused for about an hour in boiling water. Two ounces if the plant gave one imperial pint of infusion. The dose was adjusted according to the age of the patient, but no maximum dose is mentioned, and apparently it varied according to use and wont. It is difficult to tell why such a pungent-smelling plant received such glowing approbation, but despite its odorous drawbacks, its reputation as a ‘certain cure’ still remains.
Gaelic plant names –
Righeal cuil – the fly reprover.
Riaghal cuil also rial chuil– that which rules insects
Earbull righ (earbull, a tail).
Ruidel, the red haired
Lus an eallan – the cancer weed
Flora scotica –
Upon rocks and stoney places
It is reckoned astringent and vulnerary, but is seldom used in medicine
Honeysuckle
Féithlean
HONEYSUCKLE, WILD (Lus na meala) Lonicera periclymenum P 450cm. Climber. Subtle rose-pink, yellow and cream flowers with a honeyed scent. Pot-pourri herb. Medicinal
Beith –
The flowers were crushed and infused in boiling water to make a tea for relieving the symptoms of asthma and bronchitis. It was said the druids used honeysuckle to heal disorders of the eyes. It was also used to make a wash for getting rid of freckles or soothing sunburnt skin. Honeysuckle tea was believed to be a useful remedy for nervous headaches.
Flora scotica –
Dwarf honeysuckle – Lus-a-chraois – plant of gluttony
the berries have a sweet waterish taste, and are supposed by the highlanders to create a great appetite, whence the Erse name of the plant.
Gaelic plant names –
Uilleann, seems to be derived from uileann (elbow, arms, joints), elbow-like plant Taithuílleann, our Gaelic name Uilleann, and taith, bright, pleasing.
Feith, feithlean – a sinew, tendon, suggested by its twisting, sinewy stems….
Lady’s mantle
Copan an driùchd, trusgan (alpine)
LADYS MANTLE (Copan an druichd) Alchemilla xanthochlora/vulgaris P 20cm.Graceful fan-shaped pleated leaves and yellow
green flowers. For menstruation problems and as a wound herb.
LADIES MANTLE, ALPINE Alchemilla alpina P 15cm. Found at high altitude in the Highlands of Scotland, a very hardy survivor of rocky exposed habitats. The root and leaf can be harvested and applied either fresh or dried, mainly as a wound healer and for skin problems.
Beith –
Known better in southern herbals as a ‘woman’s herb’, lady’s mantle was used more commonly in the Highlands as an application for sores and wounds. The Gaelic name copan an driùchd means dew cup, a very exact description of the leaves which every morning hold a large and sparkling drop of dew in their centre.
Gaelic names –
Common – copan an driùchd, a dew cup; fàlluing Mhuire, Mary’s mantle. Cruba, leomhainn, lion’s paw; còta preasach nighean an rìgh, the princesses’ plaited garment.
A decoction from this plant was supposed to restore beauty after it faded. The dew gathered from its cup-like leaves had the same effect.
Alpine – trusgan, mantle
The form and the satiny under-side of the leaves of this and the other species gave rise to the names trusgan, fàlluing, còta, and the English name, Lady’s mantle.
“Tha trusgan faoilidh air cruit an aonaich.” (Macintyre) – The mantle-grass on the ridge of the mountain.
The hills about coire-cheathacih and Ben Doran (the district described by the poet) are covered with this beautiful plant. The word Trusgan, mantle, may be used in theis instance in its poetic sense.
Lovage
Siunas, sunais
LOVAGE, SCOTS (Siunas) Ligusticum scoticum P 60cm. Smaller native species with similar uses as Garden Lovage, better for a small garden.The Scots Gaelic name means "stormy" due to its preferred habitat on a rock face or just above a storm beach.In our gardens it would do well in a rockery or similar habitat.
Beith –
This plant of the sea-cliffs led something of a double life. Its daytime job was as a celery like flavouring for broths and salads, but it moonlighted as a poor man’s aphrodisiac. In lamb broth it was said to be ‘very effective’ for people suffering from a trouble known as glacach, variously described as being a swelling in the palm of the hand or a form of consumption. The nourishing lamb and lovage broth is more likely to have been administered for the latter. Lovage was also eaten raw or served as a boiled vegetable with fish, meat or milk dishes.
Alastair Maclean’s Hebridean Altars, which contains several interesting references to medicinal plants, has a tendency to put a rather utopian and pious gloss on everything, and lovage is no exception: ‘… they called [it] the cojoler’s plant, since its soothing property gave quiet to the mind…” However, lovage – as its English name implies – was a reputed aphrodisiac. Such was the reputation of its similarly endowed close cousin celery, that in medieval times Spanish nuns were forbidden to grow it in their convent gardens.
Gaelic names –
siunas, from sion, a blast, a storm – growing in exposed situations. In the Western Isles, where it is frequent on the rocks at the sea-side, it is sometimes eaten raw as a salad, or boiled as greens.
Mugwort
Liathlus
MUGWORT (Liath lus) Artemisia vulgaris P 150cm. Large woody herbaceous plant, used to flavour drinks, fatty meats, repel insects ,in "smudge sticks" and in Chinese medicine.
Beith –
It is believed that travellers who carried mugwort would not tire. The plant has a bitter taste and is said to strengthen the stomach and create an appetite. In the Highlands the young, tender leaves were used as a pot herb. Before tobacco was imported, dried mugwort was a popular herb for smoking. In Scots the plant was known as ‘muggins’ and may have earned its place in the following rhyme from its use to treat anorexic young women:
“If they wad drink nettles in March and eat muggins in May, Sae many braw maidens wadna gang tae clay.”
Gaelic Plants –
Laith lus – the grey weed
Cows were protected from the influence of fairies and witches by having “bollan feaill-Eoin” placed on St. John’s Eve in their houses. It was made into chaplets, which were worn on the heads of man and beast; this was supposed to protect them from malign influences.
Colour Cauldron-
Parts used – flowering tops
Dye colour – deep brown/ black
The flowering tops were gathered in October, and boiled vigorously until the plant was soft and dye liquid dark in colour. The dyebath was then strained. If alum mordanted yarn is dyed at this stage a dull greyish yellow can be obtained, but for black, a small amount of ferrous sulphate was added to the dye bath and iron mordanted yarn used. The yarn was left in the heated liquid until a good colour developed.
Primrose
Sòbhrag
PRIMROSE (Lus nam muisean) Primula vulgaris P 15cm. Native usually on edge of woodland. Early summer creamy-yellow flowers, very suitable for a slightly shaded moist wild garden . Anti-inflammatory leaves for minor wounds, flowers for salads and a mild sedative tisane when plentiful.
Beith -
The leaves were used as a salve for burns and cuts. A native of Bernera, off the Isle of Lewis, Agnes Maclennan, rememberes having persistent boils on her legs cured by an application of primrose leaves in the 1940s.
St John’s Wort
Lus or achlasan chaluim Chille
SAINT JOHN'S WORT (Eala bhuidhe) Hypericum perforatum P 60cm. An important herb with cheery yellow clustered flowers. Contains antiviral and antiseptic properties that help reduce anxiety, tension and menstrual problems. Externally the flowers make an infused oil for skin problems.Sow outside in the spring.
Beith –
A favourite amulet if the plant is come across without being specifically sought, achlasan Chaluim Chille means the ‘armpit package of St. Columba’ and thereby, needless to say, hangs a tale. It is one of the oldest known Highland Cures, and one of the most valuable. An ointment of St John’s Wort, germander speedwell and golden rod chopped and mixed in butter and grease was considered the very best application for wounds. In Glen Roy where the plant is known in Gaeluc as lus na fala ‘bloodwort’, St John’s wort was boiled to stem bleeding.
Gaelic Plants-
“An eala bhuidhe ‘san neoinean bàn
‘S an t’sobhrach an glean fàs, nan. Luibh
Anns am faigheadh an leighe liathe
Furtach fiach, do chreuch a’s leòn.”
In the glen where the St John’s Wort, the white daisy and the primrose grow, the grey doctor will find a valuable remedy for every disease and wound.
‘The belief was common among the Caledonians that for all the diseases to which mankind is liable, there grows a herb somewhere, and not far from the locality of the particular disease prevails, the proper application of which would cure it.” – Mackenzie
Coad aslachan Cholum chille, St Columba’s flower
Lus an fhògraidh “Formerly it was carried about by the people of Scotland as a charm against witchcraft and enchantment.
THe St John’s Wort is the ‘fuga dæmounum,’ which Martin describes in his “Western Isles.” “John Morrison, who lives in Bernera (Harris) wears the plant called ‘Seud” in the neck of his coat to prevent his seeing of visions, and says he never saw any since he first carried that plant about with him.”
Children have a saying when they meet this plant –
“Luibh Cholum Chille, gun sireadh gun iarraidh,
‘S a dheòin Dia, cha bhàsaich mi ‘nochd.”
Sy Columbus-wort, unsought, unasked, and please God, I won’t die tonight.”
Colour Cauldron –
Part used – Flowers
Dye colour – “Lettuce Green”, “Maroon”, “Black”, “Lemon Yellow.”
The most exceptional feature of this plant is that all of the above dye colours, green, marron, yellow, and black can be produced from one single dyebath made from the flowers of Hybericum Perforatum.
The flowers were gathered in July, at the height of flowering. They were boiled until the dye liquid was strongly coloured. Alum mordanted yarn entered at this stage attraced a bright green dye in just a few minutes, this yarn was then removed. Next, some unmordanted yarn was entered and it slowly became quite red. When this red dye was strong this yarn was also removed. Assuming that all the green/ red dye potential had not been used, a further skein was entered (subsequent tests have shown that it can be either alum mordanted or un-mordanted) and left in the dyebath overnight. By the morning this skein had attracted the remainder of both the green and red dye and was therefore quite black. When all the red/ green/ black had been extracted from the dyebath it was possible to obtain the final yellow dye colour. This was done by raising the temperature to the boil and dropping in an alum mordanted skein which very rapidly absorbed the remaining yellow dye.
Attempts at obtaining these colours before and after the peak flowering season have been unsuccessful, for although there have been indications of the presence of the red dye, it has been very pale, and the green generally duller.
These methods show that red could have been obtained in rural situations where mordants were not available. Craft dyers today might prefer to try for more brilliant red colours using a tin mordant.
Flora Scotica –
In woods, thickets and hedges
An oil or tincture of the flowers is esteemed a good vulnerary. The express’d juice or infusion of the same is reckoned good to destroy worms, to resolve coagulated blood and to promote urine.
Tansy
Lus na Frainge
TANSY, WILD (Lus na frainge) Tanacetum vulgare RR 90cm. An aromatic herb with fern-like leaves and yellow button flowers. Once used in tansy puddings that were customary at Easter, also in the past as a vermifuge. A plant for the wild garden due to its vigorous habit.
Beith –
Depending on the degree of the problem, and the general health of the patient, varying strengths of tansy tea were administered for worms. Sometimes the tansy was infused in whey and whisky. It was always taken while fasting, which usually meant a dose first thing in the morning
Colour Cauldron –
Parts – Flowering Tops
Colour – Mustard/ naples yellow
The whole plant-tops, picked when in full flower, were boiled until the liquid was a dark, greeny yellow. After straining off the liquid, the alum mordanted yarn was added to it, heated for 30 minutes, then left to soak until the dye was strong enough. This is not the prettiest yellow but the colour is intense.
Tormentil
TORMENTIL (Braonan fruich) Potentilla erecta/tormentilla P 10cm. Bright yellow flowered herb. The rhizome provides us with a safe and powerful astringent medicine for sore throats, cuts, grazes and minor burns. Dye plant. Acidic soil.
Beith –
The dainty little yellow-flowered plant was used for worming. In Tiree and Coll a decoction of the roots in milk was given for diarrhoea and dysentery. In Uist it was chewed to heal a sore lip.
Gaelic Names –
Leanartach/ Leamhnach, tormenting
Bàrr braonan-nan-con, the dogs’ briar bud
Braonan fraoich (fraoch, heather). Braonan, the bud of a briar
Braanan bachlaig, the earth nut, from braon, a drop.
Cairst lair – This is the name among fishermen in the Western Isles, meaning the ‘ground bark.’ It is generally used for tanning the nets when they cannot get the oak bark.
Flora Scotica –
In barren pastures, moors and heaths almost everywhere
A decoction of these roots in milk is also frequently administered by the inhabitants of the same islands in diarrhaeas and dysenteries, with good success; but perhaps it would be most proper not to give it in dysenteries till the morbid matter be first evacuated. A spirituous extract of the plant stands recommended in the sea-scurvy, for to strengthen the gums and fasten the teeth.
Colour Cauldron –
Parts Used – Roots
Colour – Greyish orange, Dark ‘violet brown”
For this test the roots were dug in July, and were washed, chopped and soaked for 24 hours before use. They were boiled at length, until the roots became pulpy, then strained. Alum mordanted yarn needed the addition of a little soda to develop the clear colour ‘greyish orange’. The dark ‘violet brown’ colour was dyed onto yarn pre-mordanted with iron.
Vetch
VETCH, BITTER or MOUNTAIN (Carmeal) Lathyrus montanus / linifolius P 30cm.Native to upland areas of the UK producing pink/blue flowers. When sucked fresh the small root nodules have a liquorice-like flavour, that acts like a tonic reducing hunger and providing mild stimulation. Good for long distance trekking.
Beith –
This plant’s properties were highly esteemed by the Gaels and by the ancient Celts before them. I can confirm that its tubers taste every bit as good as the following description by the Revd. Angus MacFarlane claims:
It has long, branching, underground roots, strung with nodulous lumps at frequent intervals. These, after they are dried, are chewed as wild liquorice. For chewing purpose I consider them superior to and far less deleterious than common chewing gum. The taste lingers in the mouth for long after the last shred in chewed. They are said to ward off hunger for a long time. The taste is both acid and sweet, and never palls.
In 1777 John Lightfoot wrote: In mountainous pastures and woods very frequent, both in the highlands and lowlands
The Highlanders have a great esteem for the tubercles of the roots of this plant; they dry and chew them in general to give a better relish to their liquor; they also affirm them to be good against most disorders of the thorax, and that by the use of them they are enabled to repel hunger and thirst for a long time. In Breadalbane and Ross-shire they sometimes bruised and steep them in water, and make an agreeable fermented liquor with them. They have a sweet taste, something like the roots of liquorice, and when boiled, we are told, are well-flavoured and nutritive, and in times of scarcity have served as a substitute for bread.
Thomas Pennant, too, snag its praises:
… among the useful plants, the Corr or Cor-meille must not be omitted, whose roots dired are the support of highlanders in long journeys, amidst the barren hills destitute of the support of life; and a small quantity, like the alimentary powders, will for a long time repel attacks of hunger. Infused in liquor it is an agreable beverage, and like the Nepenthe of the Greeks, exhilarates the mind. From the similitude of sound in the name, it seems to be the same with Chara, the root discovered by the soldiers of Caesar at the siege Dyrrachium, which steeped in milk was such a relief to the famished army. Or we may reasonably believe it to have been the Caledonian food described by Dio, of which the quantity of a bean would prevent both hunger and thirst: and this, says the historian, they have ready for all occasions.
There seems no doubt that the plant referred to above as ‘Chara” is the same as the one which gave its name to the Celtic and Gaelic ‘nectar of the gods’ named by other classical writers as the ‘corma’ or ‘courmi’ of the Celts, and in the early Gaelic literature of Ireland and Scotland as Cairm or cuirm. In the Litany of Aengus Céile Dé a poem ascribed to St Brigid transplates:
I should like a grat kaje if ake (corm)
For the king of kings;
I should like the family of heaven
TO be drinking it through time eternal.
No apologies are made for writing and quoting about this plant at length since it has fallen into a strange neglect and, it seems to me, it is ripe for investigation and, perhaps, a revival if grown commercially. As late at the 1950s it was being gathered by older people in the north of Scotland for inclusion in a home-brewed heather ale. Now it is virtually unknown even by those with otherwise good memories of the old ways with plants.
One last quotation on the subject: Martin wrote of its use in Skye in the late seventeenth century:
Carmel… has a blue flower in July; the Plant itself is not us’d, but the Root is eaten to expel Wind: and they say it prevents Drunkenness, by frequent chewing of it; and being so us’d, gives a good Relish to all Liquors, Milk only excepted. It is Aromatick and the Natives prefer it to Spice for brewing Aquavitae; the Root will keep for many Years: some say that it is Cordial and allays Hinger.
Gaelic Names –
Cairmeal – cair, dig; meal, enjot; also mall
Corra, a crane and meillg, a pod, the cane’s pod or peas
Bitter vetch – and sometimes called ‘wild liquorish’ – seems to be the same name as the French ‘carmel,” burnt sugar and according to Webster, Latin, “canna mellis,” or sugar cane. The fermented liquor that was formerly made from it, called cairm or cuirm, seems to be the same as the ‘courmi” which Dioscorides says the old Britons drank. The root was pounded and infused, and yeast added. It was either drunk by itself or mixed with their ale – a liqor held in high estimation before the days of whisky; hence the word ‘cuirm’ signifies a feast. That their drinking gatherings cannot have had the demoralising tendencies which might be expected, is evident, as they were taken as typical of spiritual communion…
Woodruff, Sweet
WOODRUFF, SWEET (Lusa-caitheamh) Asperula odorata /Galium odorata P 30cm.Woodland plant with bright white flowers. Dried leaves scented of new-mown hay for linen bags and pot-pourri, medicinal. Shaded site.
Beith –
The Gaelic name means ‘wasting-wort’ and the plant was used for treating consumption and other chest troubles.
Gaelic Names –
Lus a-chaitheamh, the consumption herb, as it was much used for that diseas. Probably the Irish name baladh chnis, the scented form, is the woodruff, and not the lady’s bedstraw; it is more appropriate to the former than to the latter.
Lus Moleas – Probably he means “Lus Molach”. The rough or hairy plant, corresponding to the Latin name asperula, or asper, rough. Most of the genus are characterised by whirled leaves, square stems, and margins of leaves prickly; the common goose grass is a good example, but the woodruff is less rough than most of them. The dried plant is very odoriferous, and was formerly used as a diuretic. It ascends in the Highlands to the height of 1200 feet.
Wormwood
WORMWOOD, COMMON (Buramaide) Artemisia absintium P 90cm. Shrubby border plant; silver-grey aromatic foliage which once flavoured absinthe. A bitter tonic for enfeebled digestion, also expels worms. Keeps moths from clothing.
Beith –
Wormwood was collected in September before the frost came, when the fruit would be ripe and the stem and leaves nearly dry. It was kept by hanging it from the ceiling in a muslin bag, and when needed an infusion was made of about two ounces of dried herb to one pint of boiling water. It was used as a vermifuge with considerable success. One teaspoon was a dose for children and adults were given a maximum of a tablespoonful.
Gaelic names –
Buramaide
Irish, borramotor, also burban (burrais, a worm or caterpillar; maide, wood) ; i.e. wormwood
Skeat derives it from waremood, ‘preserver of the mind, - from its supposed virtues.”
Searbh luibh, bitter plant
It was formerly used instead of hops to increase the intoxicating quality of malt liquor.
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