July/August 2002 Excerpt

Excerpt from All-American Herbs by Donald Humphrey

For a non-traditional herb garden, try some of these attractive and intriguing American native plants that have a long history of medicinal or culinary use.

The majority of herbs grown in American gardens originated in lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Near East, Turkey, and central Asia—areas that experience mild, wet winters and long, dry, and hot summers. As civilizations flourished around the Mediterranean, agriculture, grazing, and construction led to removal of forests, creating plant communities dominated by evergreen shrubs with aromatic foliage. Well-known herbs such as lavender, thyme, rosemary, and rue are but a few of those indigenous to the region.

NEW WORLD HERBS

In what is now the United States, no such pressure on the environment occurred in pre-Columbian times. Native Americans used the plants that inhabited their world for numerous purposes, and some of their knowledge was shared with European settlers. These settlers, however, had transported seeds of many of their traditional herbs with them across the ocean. With the rich panoply of Eurasian herbs, nurtured for over 2,000 years, American plants for the herb garden were largely ignored or overlooked.

I recently checked an extensive list of herbs in a well-known American garden book of the 1950s and found only two species listed that are native to the United States. But times and tastes are changing. In The Big Book of Herbs by Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas Debaggio, published in 2000, and The New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses by Deni Moore, published in 2001, a sizeable number of native herb species are included.

Both of the texts mentioned above include a number of eastern wildflowers that have a history of medicinal use. Many have become more familiar as ornamental plants—we often grow them without regard to or knowledge of their herbal lore.

FAMILIAR NATIVES WITH A MEDICINAL PAST

Some of the most important of these are the nine species of cone flower. The most desirable for herbal use is Echinacea angustifolia (USDA Zones 4–9, AHS Zones 8–5) from the Great Plains. Documented pharmaceutical uses go back to the 1880s, and prior to that time Native Americans used it for everything from snakebites to bathing burns. It is recommended as a stimulant to the immune system by many herbalists. With its long-lasting lavender-pink summer flowers, it is a welcome addition to sunny borders.

Bugbane or black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa, Zones 3–8, 12–1) has been used as an astringent, diuretic, and insect repellent. It was commonly employed by midwives for treating women’s reproductive problems. Tall white spires of fuzzy spring and summer flowers and rich green foliage make it an attractive addition to the back of a perennial border.

Other native ornamental perennials that have a history of medicinal use include: rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium,  Zones 4–9, 12–1) a purported remedy for snakebite, and Indian physic (Porteranthus trifoliatus and P. stipulatus, Zones 4–9, 9–1) used by American Indians and settlers as an emetic. Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum, Zones 3–8, 8–1), with its striking spires of white or pink summer flowers, has also been used as an emetic, and in smaller doses as a laxative. And a tonic has been made from that staple of the summer border, Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum, Zones 3–9, 9–1). Its roots have been used to induce perspiration and a pinkish-red dye is derived from the seed heads. Spigelia marilandica (Zones 5–9, 9–2), a favorite wildflower of mine, goes by the name of worm grass, indicating its historic use as a treatment for intestinal worms.

 SUN-LOVING AMERICAN HERBS

The plants treated in the remainder of this article are “children of the sun.” They are found across the United States, with the heaviest concentrations in the southeastern coastal plain, the Southwest and adjacent Mexico, and California. My interest in them is for their fragrant foliage, form, and flowers. Although most have not been studied sufficiently for their herbal uses to be generally regarded as safe, my own experience with them and that of others is mentioned where applicable.

Several of the 16 species in the genus Monarda are known both for their herbal and ornamental qualities. Perhaps the most familiar to gardeners is Monarda didyma (Zones 4–9, 9–2)—commonly referred to as Oswego tea, bee balm, or bergamot—which is found in rich wooded areas in the eastern United States and requires more moisture and a richer soil, and tolerates more shade, than most of the following herbs. The name “Oswego tea” comes from the use of the leaves for tea by early settlers in upstate New York. I use a few leaves of it and lemon verbena in my regular tea—the fragrance resembles that of the bergamot orange, used to flavor Earl Gray tea. The species has bright red summer flowers, but cultivars are available in an array of colors, all of which are magnets for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Because it suckers freely, it may need containment in a small garden; mildew can also be a problem, especially in the South, but less susceptible cultivars are available.

 AHS members can view this article in its entirety by clicking here.