As an accompinament to 101 plants thread I thought a 'Uses in history' of plants thread maybe of interest to some people. I'm fascinated by uses of plants throughout the ages and feel a connection with the past when I see plants in the countryside that our descendants would have known and used for various needs
So I'll start the ball rolling
Ground ivy - was sold as a tea by street vendors in Victorian times on the streets of London during the colder months as it's good for the chest. It also goes by the name of Alehoof (and 'gill over the ground' ) and was used to clarify ale before hops were discovered
Silverweed has a cooling and soothing effect and was used to for beds to lay injured knights on when they returned from crusades. The roots are also edible and were widely eaten before potatoes were introduced. Autumn is the best time to gather the roots
Gypsywort - produces a black dye and was used by people to give themselves a 'gypsy like' or dark skinned and exotic appearance to colour their skin so they were more credible when selling their wares.
Blackthorn - used for the irish shellelagh fighting stick carried by travellers.
Wild service tree - wood used to make cross bow stocks
Just a few to start the ball rolling. These are from the readers digest field guide to the wildflowers of britain. It dosn't have an historical entry for every flower/plant but it does have a lot of snippets like these. The tree book from the same series is the same.
So I'll start the ball rolling
Ground ivy - was sold as a tea by street vendors in Victorian times on the streets of London during the colder months as it's good for the chest. It also goes by the name of Alehoof (and 'gill over the ground' ) and was used to clarify ale before hops were discovered
Silverweed has a cooling and soothing effect and was used to for beds to lay injured knights on when they returned from crusades. The roots are also edible and were widely eaten before potatoes were introduced. Autumn is the best time to gather the roots
Gypsywort - produces a black dye and was used by people to give themselves a 'gypsy like' or dark skinned and exotic appearance to colour their skin so they were more credible when selling their wares.
Blackthorn - used for the irish shellelagh fighting stick carried by travellers.
Wild service tree - wood used to make cross bow stocks
Just a few to start the ball rolling. These are from the readers digest field guide to the wildflowers of britain. It dosn't have an historical entry for every flower/plant but it does have a lot of snippets like these. The tree book from the same series is the same.
