Es Kannligraut - Sweet Cicely

Traditionally, this herb has held a significant place on the Pennsylvania Dutch spice palette. It has been known by many names in Deitsch, yet its use seems to have diminished over time. It's time to bring increase our awareness of this herb and to enjoy learning and experiencing the traditions that continue into the present.

es Kannligraut

This is Sweet Cicely (pdc: es Kannligraut, es Karwligraut, der Siessfennichel, die Siesswatzel; tax: Myrrhis odorata). It is a perennial herb in the carrot family. As an aromatic herb, its traditional use in Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine is to add a mild licorice or anise flavor and natural sweetness to dishes. One of the benefits to Sweet Cicely is that it is often used to reduce the amount of sugar needed in cooking and the stems and leaves are used in stewing tart fruits, such as Rhubarb, Gooseberries, and variants of Apples. 

The use as a flavoring is versatile, from omelets to herb-infused oils and brandies. All parts of the plant are edible, with some people boiling the roots or adding them to stews (including to Bott Boi, or pot pie).

As is the case with Fennel, I will sometimes pop a Sweet Cicely seed pod and chew on it to ease dry mouth when working outside or to freshen my breath. They can be added to cakes or cupcakes for a subtle anise flavor.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer: This information is for educational and discussion purposes only. Nothing in these posts is intended to constitute, or should be considered, medical advice or to serve as a substitute for the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider. 

Although there are several historical medicinal uses for this herb, perhaps the most valuable today is as a sweet spice that can reduce the need for additional sugar and can thus be used in cooking for diabetic needs. 

Paul Wieand (17) lists traditional uses as being as a laxative, which is still recommended as a tea among many Hexerei practitioners today. Other traditional uses include as an easement for bronchitis, grippe, bowel, and urinary issues.

Folkloric Uses

In Blanzegschwetz practice at this time of year, Sweet Cicely plays an interesting role. Spring tonics and bitter tonics are common as we emerge from winter. The Sweet Cicely already has enough growth on it that I can use it as a sweet tonic or as a flavor balance in a bitter tonic.

This is also an "Elf shot" herb in our folklore. Carrying Sweet Cicely on oneself is said to protect one from being targeted by curses or malicious entities. If one senses an Elf shot (a sudden, unexplained shooting pain in the body), a traditional remedy is to rub the spot with a poultice of Sweet Cicely in asterisk patterns nine times. 

It would be wonderful to see a resurgence of the traditional herbs in our spice palette. Growing this herb is not difficult, but seed stratification is important to get it started. If you don't live in an area where you have extended periods of freezing temperatures in the winter, you would have more luck placing the seeds in a freezer (dampness can also help) for a month or so. 

It is a good woodland herb, so it does well in partial shade and moist soil. Benign neglect is better than too much attention. It attracts beneficial insects and is an excellent companion plant to Rhubarb and Hosta.

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Work Cited:

Wieand, Paul. Folk Medicine Plants Used in the Penna. Dutch Country. Mechanicsburg, PA: Remembrance Press, 1961.

Der Hauswachs - Houseleeks

Houseleeks, or hens and chicks, is one of those plants whose old lore persisted. 

It is sacred to Dunner, and tradition was —and still is, to some degree— to plant Hauswachs on the roof of homes, barns, or other buildings to ward off lightning strikes.

Zitrones Muddergraut / Lemon Beebalm / Monarda citriodora

New addition to the garden this year.

 

The way it flowers reminds me of Spotted Beebalm, which is, perhaps, my very favorite plant of all time in appearance. The Lemon Beebalm is blooming far earlier than my Spotted ever has, and the shades of pink are really beautiful.

Grudelrewe / Groundsel

Grudelrewe (pdc), (tax: Senecio vulgaris and en: Common Groundsel): Groundsel is listed as a noxious weed in many states and even in many countries. It is poisonous to cattle and horses. It is toxic to humans with prolonged exposure. The plant is native to Europe and Asia but has spread throughout most of the world.

die Grudelrewe

In the past, it was used in Deitsch herbalism as a remedy for epilepsy and for treatment of worms. However, there are far better herbs out there to use instead of one that is documented to be toxic.

There are some benefits to the plant, though. For starters, finches, sparrows, and some other birds consume the seeds as part of their diet. The plant is frost-resistant and runs on shorter cycles, which means the birds have groundsel seeds available much of the year. It is also a food source for the caterpillars of some moths (mostly in Europe and Asia), and it plays host to some pollinating flies and other insects.

At this time of year, many Milkweeds are releasing their floating seeds. Groundsels seeds look similar, so a Groundsel seed might be mistaken for a Milkweed seed and be caught by a Deitsch child, who, thinking it is a "Gwinschi" ("Wishy") or "Wischli" ("Wisp"), will make a wish on the seed and release it back into the wild.

DEITSCH VOCABULARY

die Grudelrewe: Common Groundsel; Senecio vulgaris

Potential Pitfall! Grudelrewe vs. Grundelreewe. The former is this toxic Groundsel; the latter is Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea), a beneficial herb of the Mint family and one of the Nine Sacred Herbs of Urglaawe.

es Gwinschi: informally, a "wishy." Something one makes wishes upon. In Deitsch lore, it is often the floating seed of a Milkweed. The floating seed is caught; the wish is made upon it. The seed is then released and is carried away to those who will hear it (folklore varies here among ancestors/forebears, Elwe, Idise, etc.). If the floating seed lands within sight and germinates, it is said the wish has been heard and granted.

es Millichgraut: Milkweed. Allgmeenes Millichgraut is Deitsch for Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca.

es Wischli: Similar to Gwinschi, but the original meaning is less about the wish and more about the wispy appearance of the floating seed.

Catnip / es Katzegraut

One of my friends started a new garden this year, and stray cats in her neighborhood completely trashed the Catnip that she had planted. This matched my first experience with Catnip over a decade ago. I have experimented with a few different options for dealing with this problem:

"Set it and they'll get it; sow and they won't know."

Anecdote from my experience:

When I first started gardening, I planted a Catnip (Nepeta cataria) plant that had a solid season. The next year during Spring cleanup, I uprooted the plant, so it never came back. So, I acquired more plants, and they did well... for about 20 hours. I came out to my backyard and startled the stray cat (who now lives with us strictly indoors) we since have named Mama. She had totally trashed all the Catnip plants that we set. It was a catnip carnage. So I tried setting a plant in a hanging pot. That worked sufficiently, but that summer was brutally, and the soil would dry out rapidly, so the plant withered quickly. I usually have at least one plant in a container each year, though.

The next season I tried a combination of sowing and setting into the ground. I set small plants right at the May 15 threshold. The smaller plants were easier to handle without damaging them than were the larger plants. I planted them in the middle of Daabnessel (Purple Deadnettle) stands that were fading out for the season.

This has worked for me every season. I think the trick is to avoid as much as possible doing any damage to the Catnip plant that would cause the volatile oil to be exposed to open air in a sufficient quantity. Speaking from my experience only, Daabnessel serves as a companion plant in a couple of ways: the texture and appearance of the leaves that branch from the stem are similar to Catnip, but the aroma is far more earthy. Daabnessel grows widely on its own throughout Pennsylvania, so most of us probably do not need to cultivate it; we can just use what is already there. Daabnessel also releases its oils and aroma at least as easily as Catnip, so, if the Catnip is set among the Daabnessel, the Daabnessel aroma might mask the Catnip aroma. They are both Mints and, while Daabnessel can grow rapidly and aggressively, its Spring season is fading out when Catnip's is coming in. Catnip requires space, so, as the plants grow, I pare back the dying Daabnessel.

Setting stakes or dowels around a set Catnip plant won't stop a cat from finding the plant and eating the aerial parts, but it will make it more difficult for the cat roll on the plant or to uproot it, which increases the chances of a set plant surviving.

Another great companion plant for Catnip, also from the Mint family, is Hyssop (Hyssopus officials), which one may often find in white and blue subspecies. The two plants improve the conditions for each other. Hyssop is a critical ingredient for one of my salves, so I appreciate the relationship between the two.

Usually a few volunteer Catnip plants show up in June from last years seeds sowing themselves. Those volunteers often turn up in areas where plants in the Brassica (Mustard) family are growing, which is often for me in garden beds where there are remnants of Pennsylvania Bittercress (Cuckooflower) are still there, but I try to keep the Cuckooflower out of the main garden beds because it just takes over. However, the companion status between Catnip and the Brassicas covers pretty much anything in the Mustard family. Catnip deters many of the pests (particularly the flea beetle) that attack Brassicas. Catnip can also serve as a good protector of plants in the Gourd (Curcurbit) family by deterring pests like the squash beetle.

Setting Catnip among other fragrant plants can increase the likelihood of survival. Lavender and Rosemary have worked sufficiently for me, but the one that seemed to do the single best job was Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium, which is a "true mint"; the distantly related American Pennyroyal is Hedeoma pulegioides and would work, too). I experimented with setting a medium-sized Catnip plant that had to be moved among three Pennyroyal plants. Pennyroyal has a distinct fragrance that is released easily, and it is, to my sense of smell, more volatile than is Catnip. Unfortunately, there is conflicting information out there about whether Pennyroyal is toxic to cats, and mounting evidence leads me to be hypercautious about placing an enticement amid potential poison.

Construction at my house this year resulted in the loss of my sole Rue (Ruta graveolens) plant. Rue is also said to be good deterrent to cats, but the area it was in was too small for Catnip to share the space. This is the weekend I will be acquiring stater plants or sowing seeds, so I may replace the Rue in the same place and then get another plant or two to test its success with protecting Catnip up in the cemetery.

Another option that many choose, for ornamental purposes primarily, is to plant a Catmint (Deitsch: der Katzebalsem; tax; Nepeta spp. other than cataria but especially Nepeta racemosa, Nepeta nepetella and hybrids of the two). Most Catmints won't be attractive to cats, so the plants will typically thrive. However, this also means that it is not "true" Catnip (which is not a hybrid). While I actually like the smell of Catmint, I stick to Catnip because it has more medicinal value to me and because I grow Catnip for my feline overlords. I was given a Catmint plant once (and I am not kidding when I say I dig the aroma of it), but I had to keep it in a container because I the likelihood of it hybridizing with my Catnip plants was way too high.

So this weekend is a great time to sow Catnip seeds directly and to transplant (carefully) seedlings or small plants into the ground.

Urglaawe Live Gebt Acht (#8) Chatcast

Urglaawe Live Gebt Acht is the eighth in our Facebook Live chatroom broadcasts. This weeks topic will be the Nine Sacred Herbs of Urglaawe / Neine Heiliche Gegreider, which are derived from Braucherei. 

Sunday, May 10, 2020

19:00 / 7:00 PM EDT

Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/228488888576165/

Presentation File: https://tinyurl.com/ycyhjcob

Urglaawe Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Urglaawe/

Wonnezeit Night / Day 7: Magnolia

WONNEZEIT NIGHT/DAY 7: MAGNOLIA

Deitsch: Maagnoli

Genus: Magnolia

Several types of Magnolia grow throughout the Deitscherei, and the Deitsch communities in Virginia, North Carolina, and other southern areas have certainly taken on some of the lore of the South that relates to the tree, such as representing nobility and strength.  In the Southern Diaspora, the flowers have come to represent the very land in which the people live, and white magnolias often are features of bridal bouquets to represent purity. 

Magnolia acuminata
Image source: https://canr.udel.edu/udbg/?plant=magnolia-acuminata

Across the Deitsch culture, magnolias will turn up in artwork, often adorning the edges but sometimes also serving a the primary subject of the work.

Purinton Pennsylvania Dutch Honey Jug
Image source: https://tinyurl.com/y9veymlu

Medicinally, tea from magnolia bark has long been used as a remedy for anxiety. People chew the bark as an alternative to smoking. Even to this day, some people snuff the warm tea to aid in sinus issues, or they put a poultice of magnolia tea around the site of a toothache. Older uses also include serving as a replacement of quinine in the treatment of malaria.

If you have magnolias on your property, today is an appropriate time to pour libations to the tree in order to encourage strong blooming of the flowers. Folklore states that, if you honor the tree properly, you might get a second round of blooms within the same season. Indeed, some species of magnolia do sometimes bloom twice.