Plant Folklore: 120 Stories

By Connie L. Taylor

Plants are all around us, and while we often reflect on the majesty of a great forest or the beauty of our gardens, how often do we notice the understated and varied wildflowers in the meadows, in the swamps, in the woods, and even along roadsides? What about all the woody plants and shrubs that so often appear as the backgrounds in our daily walks and hikes? Did you know that all of these plants and wildflowers have histories, some even playing a vital role in our lives and in our legacies?

 

In Plant Folklore, author, photographer, and naturalist Connie L. Taylor shares over one hundred short stories and histories of the flora that surround our daily lives, exploring their folklore and explaining how our ancestors used them. Not only an entertaining history of the myths and truths about some of the herbaceous plants that grow across the country and especially in the hills of Appalachia, this collection of concise introductions also offers outdoor enthusiasts and budding naturalists tips and advice they can use to identify blooms and collect wildflower seeds or plants with respect and care.

 

Plants are living histories, and each one has a story to tell. From hidden wildflowers to humble shrubs, the plants in our lives and along our hikes have at times been as essential to our survival as they are beautiful and fascinating. Plant Folklore will help you appreciate these important legacies as you learn about their histories, uses, and cultivation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781480863613

Connie L. Taylor

Connie L. Taylor was born in Science Hill, Kentucky, and he was raised in Dayton, Ohio. After serving in Vietnam with the US Marine Corps, Connie returned to Kentucky and enrolled in college. He went on to write for the local paper in London, Kentucky, as a contributing columnist, and he has been published in A.T. Journeys, the official magazine of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

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Copyright © 2018 Connie L. Taylor.

First editing, Carol Mills

Second editing, John Deering

Foreword, Jamie Carter-Barnes

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Photo Credit to Jamie Carter-Barnes for Author Photo, Beechnut Tree, Mulberry Tree, Culverroot Wildflower, and Horse-Nettle Wildflower.

All other images by Connie Taylor.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6359-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6360-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6361-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018909647

Archway Publishing rev. date: 8/28/2018

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Spring Wildflowers

What’s in a Name?

Hedge Bindweed

Black Cohosh

Bloodroot

Blue Cohosh

Chickweed

Daffodil

Dutchman’s Breeches

False Solomon’s Seal

Golden Ragwort

Indian Cucumber-Root

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Liverworts

Mayapple

Pennsylvania Bittercress

Pussytoes

Red Clover and Sweet Clover

Rue Anemone

Salt and Pepper

Shepherd’s Purse

Solomon’s Seal

Star-of-Bethlehem

Stinking Benjamin

Sweet Violet

Trailing Arbutus

Watercress

Wild Geranium

Wild Ginger

Wild Strawberry

Wood Poppy

Yellow Lady’s-Slipper

Yellow Wood Sorrel

Summer Wildflowers

American Ginseng

Bedstraw

Blue Flag

Boneset

Brambles

Butterfly weed

Canada Lilies

Cardinal Flower

Chicory

Cinquefoil

Colicroot

Coneflower

Culver’s Root

Dock Plants

Duck Potato

Evening Primrose

Fairy-Wand

Goldenrod

Great Lobelia

Ground Ivy

Heal-All

Horse-Nettle

Indian-Pipe

Ironweed

Jimsonweed

Lesser Periwinkle

Marijuana

Common Milkweed

Mullein

Oswego Tea

Ox-Eye Daisy

Pansy

Partridgeberry

Pokeweed

Queen Anne’s Lace

Swamp Rose Mallow

Sneezeweed

Teaberry

Thimbleweed

Thistle

Wild Yam

Plants

Catnip

Field Pumpkin

Plants Can Be Used for Things Other Than Food, Medicine, and Lumber

Poisonous Plants

Poisonous Plants with Edible Parts

Sweet Potato and Yam

Watermelon

What a Plant Can Tell You: Symbolism of Flowers

American Chestnut Tree

American Holly

American Mistletoe

Beech Tree

Black Locust

Black Willow

Common Elderberry

Devil’s Walkingstick

Dogwood Tree

English Ivy

Gathering Nuts

Greenbrier

Mulberry Tree

Passionflower

Paw-Paw Tree

Pine Trees

Poinsettia

Poison Ivy

Sassafras Tree

Scotch Pine

Spicebush

Strawberry Bush

Sumac

Sweet Gum

Virgin’s-Bower

White Oak

Witch Hazel

Yellow Poplar Tree

Yellowroot

Works Citied

Foreword

Connie Taylor’s love of plants is public knowledge around southeastern Kentucky. His passion for flora and fauna has been channeled for many years into his work as a photographer.

Focusing on flowers and plants found in the hills of Appalachia, Mr. Taylor has compiled 120 stories that are, without a doubt, a wonderful opportunity for a closer insight into the world of hills and forests.

Plant Folklore is an important, vital part of our heritage. Mr. Taylor has compiled a treasure trove of stories passed down through generations of Appalachian woodsman, mountain folk, and Native Americans, showing traditional uses and legendary significance of plants so essential to folks throughout the mountains that the folklore surrounding them found its way into even the names of the plants themselves.

Plants have always played an essential role in our survival—from food to clothing to medicine and even the air that we breathe. Certain plants and wildflowers carry very long and fascinating histories, some amazing, some amusing, and some very important, even today.

To my delight—and, I am sure, that of anyone who picks up this book—the stories in Plant Folklore provide great opportunities for discovery and will be of interest to a great many readers. This well-compiled book is one of a kind and contains information in well-laid-out sections, along with beautiful images, blending scientific knowledge and folklore.

Mr. Taylor’s main objective with Plant Folklore: 120 Stories is to generate an understanding and appreciation of the beauty and significance of plants and wildflowers in the mountains. He aims to draw you into the forest, with the understanding that it’s important to remember to protect and respect plants and their habitats, leaving only footprints and taking only memories and photos so that future generations may enjoy our precious natural heritage.

Naturalist Jamie Carter-Barnes

Introduction

When we go outside, most of us notice the beautiful flowers in the gardens. But we overlook the flowers that are in the meadows and swamps, along the roadsides, and in the woods. Plant Folklore: 120 Stories is meant to introduce some of these flowering plants to you.

The first part of the book details myths and truths about some herbaceous plants that grow from Canada to as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. Not all have this large a range, but most do. All the plants in the first part were used as medicine by our ancestors to treat their sick and injured. The uses were based on the doctrine of signature (used to treat the part of the body that the plant resembled). How a plant resembled the human body or why it made our forbearers think of a certain part of the body determined its use. In some cases, there are scientific reasons to use the plants. But for most of the plants that I have written about, there is no scientific evidence to support their use as a treatment for the ailments that our ancestors used the plants for. When there is evidence to support the use, sometimes there are toxins in the plant that make it dangerous to use. Some of the toxins in these plants will only make you sick. But in others, if taken in large amounts, the toxins can kill.

This book is not meant to be a guide in plant medicine. It is for entertainment only. I want to make people aware of the role that plants played during the early years in America—the years before modern medicine. Some of these plants, or their taste or flavors, are still used to make medicines, candies, or chewing gums, but most have been replaced by man-made chemicals that do the same things.

The second part concerns growing plants that bloom—how to choose which plants you want in a butterfly garden, how to force plants to bloom inside, what to keep in mind when collecting wildflower seeds or plants, and more. All these are important if you want to be successful with your wildflower gardens and get the results that you desire.

The third part of Plant Folklore concerns woody plants. I talk about the myths and truths of some trees, shrubs, and bushes, telling what they were used for and what benefit they once were or are today.

SPRING

WILDFLOWERS

What’s in a Name?

Why is the Latin name of a plant so important?

BlueCohoshblossomCaulophyllumthalictroides3.jpg

Being an outdoorsman, I thought that I had known the names of the trees and plants around me. Then I moved to Laurel County and became aware of the fact that common names change from area to area and many plants have the same common names. I didn’t realize how much of a problem that can be until I started doing research for the plant folklore articles that I have written.

SquawrootConopholisamericana23.jpg

When writing the article on black cohosh, which is of the buttercup family, I saw that it, along with the blue cohosh, which is in the barberry family, were not in the same genus or family. However, they share the common name squawroot. Then I looked a little further, only to find that golden ragwort is also called squawroot. And it wasn’t the last plant that I found with that common name. There is a parasite plant also called squawroot, which feeds off the roots of trees. This got me looking at other plants to see how bad this problem is. It didn’t take me long to find out that common names are indeed common.

blackCohoshblossomCimicifugaracemosa1.jpg

I found that shrub yellowroot, cankerroot, and goldenseal all share the common name yellowroot. But that is all they have in common. Going on with the search, I found two plants called tetterwort; two plants called wintergreen; and three plants called snakeweed, two of which are in a group of five plants called snakeroot. The list goes on and on, but this isn’t much of a problem until you talk to someone from another area or are going to use a plant to treat an ailment. Then you must know you are getting the right plant.

Using common names to communicate with people from another state or even a different part of the same state can prove to be difficult. Whoever you’re talking to may know some plants by a different name. However, the Latin or botanical name never changes, and no two plants have the same name. The Latin or botanical names are in two parts. The first part tells the genus or group, and the second part is the species, which separates the plants in the group from one another. This is why people who are interested in plants use the Latin names when referring to a plant.

HedgeBindweedCalystegiasepium11.JPG

Convolvulus sepium

Hedge Bindweed

Convolvulus sepium

Convolvulus sepium is the Latin name for the plant most people know as bindweed. The words convolere (to entwine) and sepe (hedge) describe where the name hedge bindweed comes from. It is in the morning glory family and is one of the most common weeds. Flowers of the morning glory family can be found from Canada to parts of South America. It is one of many types of bindweeds, all having beautiful funnel-shaped flowers ranging in color from white to crimson.

In times of old, the roots and leaves were used as a laxative to treat gallbladder problems and jaundice. These medicines were made from dried roots and leaves. There is no evidence that supports the use of this plant for these treatments.

This plant is found along hedges and thickets and is also one of the many weeds found in waste places or marshes. It grows to heights of fifteen feet while climbing on other plants. When the bindweed climbs, it