Before the landing of the Pilgrims, the Indians on Cape Cod were dependent on the wild herbs for food, simples, and dyes.
The Pilgrim women brought herb seeds from their home gardens to plant in the new land.
Indians and Pilgrims
As Indians and Pilgrims became better acquainted, each taught the other various uses for the herb plants, roots, and seeds.
These herbs kept spreading, recipes and cures were handed down by word of mouth, new uses were discovered, and up to the present century, at least, played an important part in the home life of our ancestors.
Fall found the attics and sheds filled with the drying herbs, so important for the seasonings and cures during the Winter months.
Herbs in Cape Cod
Here is a list of a few of the present-day herbs most easily found on Cape Cod:
- Pimpernel (scarlet)
- Asparagus
- Broom
- Joe-Pye-weed
- Spearmint
- Yarrow
- Plantain
- Chickweed
- Chicory
- Mullein
- Beach wormwood
- Wild mustard
- Goldenrod
- Cowslip
- Dandelion
- Sweet flag
- Indigo
- Catmint
- Tansy
- Purslane
- Mallow
Each one serves its purpose, but today it seems much easier to leave our money with the local druggist or grocer than to hunt up these herbs and work over them.
Scarlet Pimpernel: Household Remedy
The scarlet pimpernel is an old, common household remedy used to produce perspiration and cure rabies, epilepsy, and dropsy.
Its companion, the chickweed, used to be boiled in lard until crisp, and this converted the latter into a fine cooling ointment.
Cheery Dandelion
The cheery dandelion needs no description. Springtime seems incomplete, even today, without at least one “mess” of dandelion greens, so rich in minerals and vitamins.
The young leaves are delicious in the early salad, and dandelion wine, made from the blossoms, serves as a tonic or appetizer as long as the supply lasts.
You may not think of asparagus, which grows wild on Cape Cod, as an herb, but it has served many purposes for many years.
Roots: Cure for Jaundice and Dropsy
Formerly the roots were used as a cure for jaundice and dropsy, and the feathery branches were hung over the doors to ward off the flies. Today we hunt for the tender tips for our table.
The sweet flag grows rather indistinctly among the flags and rushes by our freshwater ponds.
Some folks are very fond of the candy made from its roots, but the roots must be picked at just the right stage, else will prove bitter. Years ago the leaves were used in basketwork.
Chicory for Herb Garden
The chicory is ever with us through the Summer months, and today is being cultivated to a certain extent in the herb garden.
The young leaves, parboiled, are used as a pot herb, and the tender roots are cooked and prepared as we do our carrots or parsnips.
When coffee was difficult to obtain, chicory roots were roasted and used as a substitute. This root also has medicinal value and has been used successfully in liver disorders.
If a gardener, you will see nothing good in the sorrel, yet this is coming into its own again and even being cultivated for soups and salads.
Wild Mustard: Rough-Looking Plant
The same may be said of the wild mustard which is a common, rough-looking plant, but most plentiful on our sandy fields. The seeds are the part used today and are very wholesome.
The mullein leaves used to be brewed into a tea and served as a cure for sore throat and fever or steeped in vinegar for a sore throat poultice. The leaf was also used in cigarettes for asthma.
Beach Wormwood
The beach wormwood presents itself early and seems to thrive in our sandy soil. The leafy tops were used in fevers and rheumatism.
Our grandmothers used to lay the tops along the back of a roasting duck to cut the grease, and the whole herb helped to fatten cattle.
Purslane: Pleasant Herb
Purslane is a pleasant herb in salads and most wholesome, but it is difficult to keep within bounds.
The yarrow is a pretty plant, growing in the sandiest spots. The flowers rubbed between the fingers, give off a more aromatic odor than the leaves.
The bruised leaves were sometimes applied to fresh cuts and bruises as they occurred in wood or field. Yarrow wine, made from the blossoms, is a great delicacy.
Joe-Pye-Weed: Gentle Laxative
Joe-Pye-weed helped to serve as a gentle laxative and was a widespread household remedy.
The indigo plant is very prominent in our woods and fields, but it always seems rather proud and haughty as it stands out by itself.
The Indians used this as a dye, and our grandmothers did likewise for their rugs and quilts. It was also used to combat infection.
Root of the Mallow
The root of the mallow (a beautiful plant in itself) was considered to be the best part for soothing cough syrup mixtures.
Catnip grows where it will. It picks out its own spot and while I have always had difficulty raising it in my own gardens, my friends, in other parts of the town, cannot get rid of it.
The very name reminds us of our pets, but it is still used to induce sleep and serve as a tonic. If you love your pets try gathering some just as the flowers are opening, dry carefully, and then make up some little cat bags.
You’ll have much fun watching your kitty play, and she will get enough catnip into her to feel “pepped-up.”
Spearmint: Mint Growing wild
Spearmint is another mint growing wild on the Cape. It is so plentiful that I do not bother too much with it in my garden, but gather the wild wherever it happens to be.
As culinary, green or dried, it glorifies the lamb stew, chops, cocktails, or teas. As medicinal it helps disorders of the stomach and acts as a sedative.
A very popular way to preserve this mint is to make up little mint pillows (such as you do with the balsam or pine) and keep the same by your pillow when troubled by sleeplessness. It works.
Tansy: Common Spring Tonic
Tansy was a very common Spring tonic which many of you remember, with a shudder. Today this herb grows along our roadsides as readily as the goldenrod but is just a few weeks ahead of the latter.
One story connected with this herb is that ladies should curtsy before the plant if they wish to retain their girlish beauty.
Meats: Used For Preservation
Meats used to be preserved from the common flies by rubbing them with the bruised tansy. The blossoms are still gathered and dried for teas and tonics.
Goldenrod used to be in great demand by the wholesale druggists upstate, and many a youngster once earned extra pin money collecting it for shipment. The whole plant was famous as a wound herb.
44659 by May H. Sargent