Boo! Seasonal Wildflower Lore

Of course, the “magical” properties of plants transcend the dinner table and the cemetery (he wrote, in keeping with the Halloween-ish theme). Love potions and amulets and prosperity figure in the lore of plants. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), a popular hay crop and a nectar source for many butterflies, has been used in money spells. Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) causes one to tell the truth. (“I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Harebell.”) Chickweed (Stellaria media) is used in spells to attract love. (That’s right: a wink and a nod is not always enough.)

The “magical” properties of plants are as wide-ranging as the imagination, and as efficacious as the toxins they contain. Midwives, who knew what sedated a mother in labor, and others likewise schooled in the uses of plants, eventually found themselves on the wrong side of plant lore, falling out of favor with decent society, which doesn’t easily segue to green-skinned hags on broomsticks, but I tried...

In any case, it’s Halloween, and with all the witches about, be careful lest you be turned into a newt. Of course, you will get better.

Here’s a partial list of familiar wildflowers, and their “magical” properties.

To maintain Chastity: Fleabane, Vervain.

To attain Courage: Black Cohosh, Columbine, Mullein, Ragweed, Yarrow.

Divination: Dandelion, Goldenrod.

Exorcism: Boneset, Clover, Mint, Thistle.

To increase Fertility: Dock, Geranium, Horsetail, Sunflower.

And Love: Avens, Bleeding Heart, Bloodroot, Coltsfoot, Daisy, Dutchman’s Breeches, Gentian, Joe-pye Weed, Lobelia, Meadow Rue, Orchid, Purslane, Skullcap, Trillium, Violet.

Author’s note: Covering my backside, “Boo! Seasonal Wildflower Lore”, in no way reflects my own beliefs, nor does it, in any fashion make light of, or encourage the pursuit of any belief, religious or otherwise. And never, ever try to gather a basket of wild food if ya don’t know what yer doin‘!

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