Tansy is a small plant with bright yellow flowers and a spicy smell (scientific name, Tanacetum vulgare sunflower family, Asteraceae). It is native to western Asia but long ago became an herb and spice that was grown throughout Europe and then transported by Europeans all over the world. Today we know it more as a garden flower or roadside weed than as a flavoring or medicine, but it is all of those.
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| common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare |
The first known cultivation of tansy was by the ancient Greeks. I'm going to talk about historical uses of tansy, but it is important to say that tansy is not recommended as food today because it contains thujone. Thujone injures the liver and the brain and could be fatal if eaten in a large enough quantity. Furthermore, modern testing of tansy's traditional medicinal uses has found that tansy is simply ineffective.
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| common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare see the pretty leaves |
Tansy foliage is bitter. It was used to expel intestinal worms and, in large doses, to induce abortions. In smaller doses it was supposed to enhance fertility and was taken to ease menstrual problems. It was also used to treat colds and fevers.
Tansy was planted around barns and farm sheds to keep pests away from the animals and strewn on floors to deter rats and mice. The leaves were layered into stored clothes as an insect repellent. Tansy was interplanted among valuable crop plants to protect them, and modern studies have supported this use, for example finding tansy oil repelled the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) (link). Historically, tansy leaves were wrapped around cheeses and meats to preserve them.
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| common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare |
People liked the bitter taste, so used it in cooking. Sometimes it substituted for sage or nutmeg or cinnamon, but across the Middle Ages and into the modern era in Europe, tansy itself was a popular flavoring. A traditional dish called tansy was eggs flavored with tansy (see recipe in Grieve link). Tansies (the egg dish) and tansy-flavored pancakes were commonly eaten at the end of Lent, the bitterness of the tansy reminding the feaster how much Christ had suffered for the redemption at Easter. Beyond that, tansy-flavored dishes (meats, fish, puddings, salads, cakes and more) were popular spring fare, considered a healthy tonic and blood cleanser at the end of a winter poor in fresh foods.
Dried leaves and flowers made teas.
The flowers were commonly used in funeral shrouds, apparently as part of preserving the body. They probably also masked the smells. Use in funereal wreaths was also common.
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| common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare |
Tansy grows well under many conditions. It was considered an essential plant for every English garden in the 16th century, so of course it was carried to North America and planted all over the colonies. This abundance facilitated its use, for example in funerals, but also contributed to its escape as a weed.
The scientific name Tanacetum was taken from the Medieval Latin name for the plant, tanazeta. Since the Romans built on ancient Greek knowledge, the name can be followed farther back to a form of the Greek word athanasia, meaning immortality. Why was this little plant called immortality? People speculate. Perhaps because the flowers last a long time, or because its medicinal properties prolongued life, or beause the leaves were used in burial ceremonies to preserve the dead. The species epithet vulgare means common. Vernacular names other than tansy for this plant are buttons, golden buttons, and bachelor buttons. In the U.S. bachelor buttons are the blue Centaurea cyanus, but in England that plant is called cornflower, so Tanacetum can be bachelor buttons.
Tansy flowers are an intense yellow and, because they are actually flower heads, with lots of small florets opening over time, they stay fresh and bright for weeks. They attract bees, butterflies and other insects. They dry nicely, becoming pretty dried yellow flowers, not so intense in color, but similar and bright, looking much like they did alive. Green or dried, tansies were very popular in flower arranging, the feathery green leaves making a nice background for a bouquet, the flowerheads different from almost everything else. Today tansy is much less cultivated--it is a noxious weed in several states, and a weed of concern in others--so you don't see it much flower arrangements.
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| common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare and visiting bumblebee |
Tansy is a good dye plant, turning cloth yellow, orangy, or olive, depending on the dyebath conditions.
In folklore, tansy was recommended to young couples wishing conceive. Those who suffered recurrent fevers could put tansy leaves in their shoes for relief. Mostly it seems to have been a practical herb, used to repel insect pests. Grieve wrote that Greek legend says the youth Ganymede drank tansy to become immortal. Ganymede might have been a real person, but, in the myth, because of his great beauty, he was kidnapped to become the cupbearer of the gods. Current commentary I could find says Ganymede was made immortal by Zeus, with no method mentioned. The versions of the myth differ on many details. link However, the folklore advice to "drink tansy for immortality" is certainly old enough that many generations of people believed it would extend life.
Tansy is a pretty plant with a long history of varied uses by humans that, because it so easily becomes a weed and because it contains poisonous compounds, is not appreciated in North America. Watch for it in historical gardens, herb gardens, and dye gardens and in Eurasia.
References
Ganymede, the Cupbearer of the Gods. Theoi Greek Mythology www.theoi.com link (Accessed 10/21/24)
Grieve, M. 1971. A Modern Herbal. originally 1932. Dover Publications. New York. (online link) (Accessed 10/21/24).
Kamm, M. W. 1971. Old Time Herbs for Northern Gardens. Originally 1938. Dover Press, New York.
Kowalchik, C. and W.H. Hylton, editors. 1987. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Mac Coitir, N. 2023. Ireland's Wild Plants. Myths, Legends and Folklore. The Collins Press. Cork, Ireland.
Missouri Plant Finder. Tanacetum vulgare. link (Accessed 10/18/24)
Pollington, S. 2000. Leechcraft. Early English charms, wplantlore and healing. Anglo-Saxon Books, Norfolk, England.
Stearn, W. T. 1996. Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners. Cassell Publishers. London.
Talbot, R. and R. Whiteman. 1997. Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden. Bulfinch Press. Boston.
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