A Tangle Of Tansy
by Connie Handscomb
Title
A Tangle Of Tansy
Artist
Connie Handscomb
Medium
Photograph - Photography - Fine Art
Description
Tansy [Bachelor's Buttons, Bitter Buttons,'Golden Buttons, Parsley Fern, Ant Fern]
Chrysanthemum vulgare [Tanacetum vulgare : Common tansy]
Family : Compositae [Daisy] or Asteraceae
Compositae fr. Latin 'compositus' = placed together
If you would like to brighten my hours,
Just bring me a bunch of yellow flowers.
~ Mamaw Tribby
This cheery, tall, button-like yellow herbaceous wildflower can be found growing along roadsides and embankments, or other poor soil or rocky areas, throughout July to September. This ancient healing herb has been grown for both decorative and medicinal purposes.
The plant, when rubbed between the fingers, exudes the scent of camphor, and the ancients used it for embalming, and its use as an organic insecticide continues to this day. Dried and in sachets, it is a moth deterrent. Colonial cooks rubbed it into wooden tables to repel flies. Sprigs of it were placed in cupboards to deter ants. Floors were strewn with the herb (King James II had a royal herb strewer!)
It has a long history of culinary use - for example, the British have used its bitter juice and chopped leaves to flavour cakes and biscuits, puddings and omelettes. Tansy was cooked, too, as a spring stir fry; the 17th century cooks used it for several recipes we are unfamiliar with in our modern age. The leaves have a peppery flavour, and were used as a substitute when pepper was not available.
Cosmetically, in the days when ladies hid behind parasols in the sun, they used to steep tansy in buttermilk for nine days to make a potion believed to whiten the skin. Culpeper, in the 17th century, used it to treat freckles, sunburn, and pimples. Today, it is used to control acne.
Dyers have used it for its rich golden colour.
In the garden, it is a companion plant to blackberries, raspberries and roses to help them grow while deterring unwanted pests, though care must be taken to keep it in check since it has the potential to become invasive.
Some indigenous people believe this flower to be a symbol of good luck.
Special Note: While it is used in cooking, common tansy has a potential to toxicity when used in abundance. While it's name is derived from the Greek word athanasia, meaning immortality, this refers to the fact the flowers do not wilt easily. But for humans, Tansy is a very potent herb, and large amounts can cause violent reactions, even death, so take care.
Sources:
Online at Wikipedia
What Can I Do With My Herbs [J. Barrett]
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Herbs [eds Kowalchuk and Hylton]
The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Magical Plants [S.Gregg]
The Wildflowers Book [Eliska Tomanova]
Plants of Coastal British Columbia ,incl. Washington, Oregon & Alaska [Pojar; MacKinnon]
Wildflowers [Rick Imes]
Jekka's Complete Herb Book[Jekka McVicar]
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Taken in natural light : Nature in all its natural splendour.
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Uploaded
August 5th, 2015
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