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The herb gardens at Old Economy Village are maintained by the Western Pennsylvania Unit of the Herb Society of America. Members of this Unit are solely responsible for the gardens as you see them.
During the past years, several interns have worked helping to maintain the herb gardens. In 1976 Kent D. Logsdon (for his Eagle Scout Project, Troop 243 BSA) worked and prepared a booklet on the herbs at Old Economy Village. Nancy Golembeski worked in the gardens and prepared written descriptions of many of the herbs. Both of these interns' work was combined in this booklet that we have prepared.
Old Economy Village is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
A few of the herbs grown are listed below:
Agrimony (Agrimonia Eupatoria) - This perennial herb has a very old reputation. It is deep green and covered with hairs. Its leaves are oblong and pinnate, and the blooms are bright yellow. Both leaves and flowers retain their scent after drying. The plant is sometimes called "Church Steeples" because of the shape of the flower.
Agrimony was used as a Spring tonic, a liniment for a sore back, and as a dye. As a dye, the tried herb produces a pale or deep yellow color, depending on the time of harvest. It was also used to remedy snake bites, wounds and fevers. Agrimony tea is very fragrant and has graced the table of many, whether it be for fragrance or its purifying virtues.
Alkanet (pentaglottis semper virens) - The name of the plant comes from the Arabic word, alhenna, the henna plant.
The plant is small and bushy and grows to about two feet in both height and spread. It has rough green leaves throughout the year and deep blue flowers in the summer.
It produces a red dye from the bark of the root that was formerly used by cabinet makers for staining wood. In cooking, its blue flowers can be floated in fruit cups and wine punches. Medicinally, it was supposed to help old ulcers, kill worms and serpents, help bruises and falls and drive out measles and smallpox.
Aloe (aloe barbadensis) - Aloe is a plant with fleshy though leathery sword-shaped leaves. A native of Africa and the West Indies, some species contain an intensely bitter honey-like sap which turns black when burned.
In small quantities it can be used in bitters. Aloecanalso be used for burns and to discourage small children from biting their nails.
You should buy aloe from a greenhouse, rather than experiment, as some variations are poisonous.
Angelica (angelica archangelical) -This herb has been known since prehistoric times as a medicinal root. It was also considered to be a charm against evil spirits, mad dogs, and venomous beasts.
It is a member of the parsley family. Its roots, leaves and seed are used for medicinal purposes as in a treatment for stomach ailments, a diuretic, treatment of heartburn and colic and a purifier of the blood.
Angelica has greenish-white flowers. It is now used as a food flavoring for wines, cordials, confections, candy, and bread. It is a hardy biennial.
Bay ( hobilis) - The leaf of this plant is a frequent condiment in European cooking. It was originally an evergreen tree from the Mediterranean and grows in warm regions.
In Greek mythology, the bay laurel was once a lovely nymph running from the god, Apollo. To save her, the gods turned her into the bay laurel and so the leaves have been a symbol of victory ever since.
In the middle ages, a powder made of bay berries was used to improve the complexion. It also had many other culinary and medicinal uses.
The bay laurel has greenish-white flowers and grows well in full sun and slightly acid soil.
Bloodroot (sanguinaria candensis) - This plant gets its name from a slave charm of colonial times. Its roots were believed to have power to avert spells by villainous persons.
It is a smooth, herbaceous, perennial plant with a fibrous root which emits an orange-colored juice when cut. From each butt of the root stalk there springs a single leaf about six inches high. The flower is white and the plant bears a fruit which is a twovalved capsule. It grows in rich open woods in Canada and the United States.
The whole plant is medicinal but the root is the chief part. It stimulates digestive organs and was usually used to induce vomiting.