The Materia Medica

Sambucus nigra, the Elder, a tree of Venus and old counsel. Her flower warms the cold humours and opens the pores; her berry, when rightly cooked, stands among the most reliable remedies for the winter fevers. Yet she is no mere kitchen herb—she is guarded, watched over by powers that forbid the casual hand. The … Read more

Verbascum thapsus, the tall herb of Saturn, stands sentinel in waste ground and graveyard margin. Mullein is the premier remedy for the lungs—a demulcent and expectorant of gentle power, whose soft leaves and golden flowers have eased the breath of the ill for centuries uncounted. Let the reader mark: it is among the kindest of … Read more

Verbena officinalis, the sacred herb of Venus—a gentle yet profound restorer of the worn nerve, the melancholic spirit, and the exhausted breast. I set down here what the old authorities and my own years of study have shown of this plant’s nature and use. Of Its Names and Nature The learned call this plant Verbena … Read more

Wood betony, a child of Jupiter, stands foremost among the herbs of the head and the nerves—a plant so esteemed by the ancients that men would sell their very coats to procure it. I have found it to be the gentlest yet most steadfast guardian against the tumults of mind and the sharp rebellions of … Read more

Hyoscyamus niger, the black henbane or stinking nightshade, is Saturn’s child and one of the most perilous plants that grows in the temperate earth. I set down what I know of it not as invitation to use, but as record—for the scholar, the gardener who has found it wild, and the reader who wishes to … Read more

Mandragora officinarum, ruled by Saturn in the depths and by Mercury in the heights of desire, is perhaps the most storied of all solanaceous plants—a true narcotic, a legendary charm, and a poison whose reputation has overshadowed its actual virtues for two thousand years. Let the reader approach it as a matter of natural philosophy … Read more

Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove, is a plant of Venus bound in Saturn’s shadow—a healer of the failing heart and a poison that has taught herbalism its most bitter and necessary lesson. I set down here what the old writers knew, what William Withering proved, and what every living reader must understand: that the line between … Read more

Artemisia vulgaris, the Mugwort, is the Moon’s own herb—a plant of silver undersides and nocturnal counsel. She rules the woman’s blood, kindles vision, and bears the reputation of both healer and hedge-witch. Let the reader mark her with respect. Of Its Names and Nature The plant I speak of bears the botanical name Artemisia vulgaris, … Read more

Artemisia absinthium, the green bitter of Mars, stands among the most storied and contentious plants in the Western apothecary—a worm-expeller, a digestive awakener, and the botanical ghost that haunts the absinthe bottle and the fevered dreams of nineteenth-century Paris. Of Its Names and Nature The plant is called by its Latinate name Artemisia absinthium L., … Read more

Rue, Ruta graveolens, is the Sun’s fierce herb of protection and bitter repentance—a plant of apotropaic power so ancient that its very name has become a word for sorrow and regret. I hold it among the most formidable and dangerous plants in the garden, a sovereign remedy of the old pharmacy now rightly approached with … Read more