Anglo-Saxon plants

Plants table

This table lists plants suitable for an Anglo-Saxon garden, including ones we have planted and some we may plant in future. Plants in the list may be culinary, medicinal, industrial (e.g. dyeing) or ornamental. It is not an exhaustive list, and there are a few 'interlopers', that is plants that I thought would have been known to Anglo-Saxons but for which no references have been found.

Common name(s)	Botanical name	Anglo-Saxon name	Uses	Location	Native to	Planting date	Gardener's notes	Historical notes	References
Agrimony	Agrimonia eupatoria	gār-clīfe							26 occurrences; 11 in medical literature, 15 in glossaries.
Alexanders, horseparsley	Smyrnium olusatrum	alexandria	Culinary		Mediterranean				14 occurrences in medical literature.
Angelica	Angelica archangelica	No references found							No references found
Apothecary's rose	Rosa gallica	rōse	Ornamental	Garden	Southern and central Europe	April 3 2020		Cultivated by Greeks and Romans	28 Old English references to rose (not specific species); 17 in medical literature, 11 in glosses/glossaries. Also numerous references to rose in Anglo-Saxon Latin literature.
Asparagus	Asparagus officinalis	eorþnafala	Medicinal, culinary	Bed of brother Julian	Western Europe	May 6 2020		Cultivated by Greeks and Romans, though the asparagus available in Britain now is a French type introduced in the 17th century	Referenced in medicinal literature
Betony	Stachys Officinalis	1. læsse bisceopwyrt 2. betonice		Garden		July 7 2020			3 references to læsse bisceop-wyrt in glossaries; 82 references to bisceop-wyrt, largely in medical literature (includes plants other than Stachys Officinalis). 114 references to betonice, mostly in medical literature.
Borage	Borago officinalis	No references found		Garden	Mediterranean	April 20 2020	Seeds in the two northern beds	Known to the Romans, and in mediaeval times.	No references found
Butchers broom	Ruscus aculeatus	cnēowholen							28 occurrences; 13 in medical literature, 15 in glossaries.
Catmint	Nepeta Cataria	nefte							20 occurrences; 14 in medical literature, 16 in glossaries.
Chamomile	Chamaemuelum Nobile	mageþe		Garden		April 3 2020			31 references to mageþe, which may also be used for other plants; 19 in medical literature, 12 in glossaries. Also in charter bounds (e.g. S663) and place-names (e.g. Mayfield, Sussex).
Chervil	Anthriscus Cerefolium	cerfille							26 occurrences; 17 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries.
Christmas Rose	Helleborus niger	ceasteræsc		Garden		April 3 2020			7 references to ceasteræsc, which is also used for other plants
Cinquefoil	Potentilla Repens	fīflēafe							34 references; 25 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries.
Clary sage	Salvia Sclarea	slaria							6 references; 3 in medical literature, 3 in glossaries.
Columbine	Aquilegia Vulgaris	No references found			Europe		Toxic, can be used to kill lice		No references found
Comfrey	Symphytum officinale	galluc		Orchard		April 10 2020	Transplanted from home garden		33 occurrences to galluc, which may be used for other plants; 14 in medical literature; 19 in glossaries. Possibly occurs in the place-name Galsham.
Coriander	Coriandrum Sativum	1. celendre, 2. coliandre		Garden		April 3 2020			26 references to celendre; 19 in medical literature; 7 in glossaries. 8 references to coliandre; 7 in medical literature, 1 in the Bible.
Corn marigold	Chrysanthemum Segetum	boþen (possible identification)							One possible reference as a type of weed.
Corncockle	Agrostemma Githago	1. coccel 2. giþrife							1. 17 references to coccel (also used for darnel); 1 in medical literature; 5 in glossaries; mostly in biblical translations and references to Matthew 13:24-30; probably occurs in a number of minor place-names and charter S975. 2. 40 references to giþrife; 39 in medical literature; 1 in a glossary.
Cornflower	Centaurea Cyanus	hæwenhnydele (possible identification)		Garden		April 3 2020			8 references to hæwenhnydele (used for other plants); 5 in medical literature, 3 in glossaries.
Costmary	Tanacetum Balsamita	cost		Garden		April 3 2020			23 occurences; 18 in medical literature, 5 in glossaries, may occur in minor place-names.
Cowslip	Primula veris	cūslyppe		Garden		April 3 2020			8 occurences; 4 in medical literature; 4 in glossaries.
Cumin	Cuminum cyminum	cymen							35 references (may sometimes refer to caraway); 28 in medical literature, 7 in glossaries.
Dill	Anethum Graveolens	dile		Garden		April 3 2020			55 occurrences; 39 in medical literature; 16 in glossaries; plus references to Matthew 23:23; also in field-names and place-names, eg Dulwich, and charters S659 & S67.
Elecampane	Inula Helenium	OE: eolone (most common name; others include hēahheoloþe, heoloþe, horselene)		Garden		April 3 2020			79 references to eolone; 60 in medical literature, 19 in glossaries.
Feverfew	Tanacetum Parthenium	fēferfūge		Garden		July 7 2020	Golden feverfew planted		28 occurrences (also used for common centaury); 19 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries.
Field poppy	Papaver rhoeas	popig (field or opium poppy)							27 occurrences; 2 in medical literature; 25 in glossaries.
Flax	Linum usitatissimum	1. fleax 2. līn (both sometimes mean linen fabric							Both occur in place-names and other contexts. 7 references to fleax in glossaries. 15 references to līn in medical literature.
Garlic	Allium sativum	1. gārlēac 2. lēac is often used for garlic		Garden		April 26 2020			35 references to gārlēac; 24 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries. 13 references to lēac in medical literature; occurs in place-names and other contexts./
Goat's rue	Galega officinalis	liþwyrt (also used for other plants)		Garden		July 7 2020			19 occurrences; 11 in medical literature, 8 in glossaries.
Grape vine	Vitis vinifera	wīngeard (also the word for vineyard)		Bed of brother Julian		May 14 2020	Variety Early Van Der Laan, supplied by Chris Bowers		3 references in medical literature; numerous other references, especially in biblical literature.
Ground ivy	Glechoma hederacea	hōfe	Used in brewing ale as flavoring, clarification, and preservative, and later by the English, before the introduction of hops into brewing.	Orchard			Grows wild		19 occurrences; 17 in medical literature, 2 in glossaries.
Heartsease	Viola Tricolor	No references found		Garden		April 3 2020			No references found
Horehound (black)	Ballota Nigra	hune							25 occurrences; 16 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries; occurs in 7 charters and possibly in place-names.
Horehound (white)	Marrubium vulgare	harehune marubie		Garden		April 3 2020			19 references to harehune; 9 in medical literature, 10 in glossaries; occurs in the place-name Arundel, (Sussex). 32 references to marubie in medical literature.
Hyssop	Hyssopus Officinalis	hysope/ysope		Garden		July 7 2020	Rock hyssop planted		6 reference to hysope in medical literature. 2 references to ysope in medical literature. Numerous biblical references.
Iris (bearded)	Iris Germanica	fane		Garden		April 8 2020			12 occurrences; 5 in medical literature, 7 in glossaries.
Lady's bedstraw	Galium verum	liþwyrt (also used for other plants)		Garden		July 7 2020			19 occurrences; 11 in medical literature, 8 in glossarie
Lesser centaury	Centaurium pulchellum	No references (lots of names and references for common centaury, Centaurium erythraea)
Lovage	Levisticum officinale	lufestice		Garden		April 6 2020			22 occurrences; 14 in medical literature; 8 in glossaries
Madder	Rubia tinctorum	mæddre		Garden		July 7 2020			19 occurrences; 4 in medical literature, 15 in glossaries; occurs in minor place-names and in a charter, S601.
Madonna lily	Lilium Candidum	līlie (general word for lily)		Garden		April 10 2020			14 references to līlie in medical literature; occurs in glossaries, biblical and other literature.
Mallow	Malva Sylvestris	Names include: cottuc, georman-lēaf, hoc, mealwe							8 references to cottuc; 4 in medical literature, 4 in glossaries. 16 references to georman-lēaf; 10 in medical literature, 6 in glossaries. 8 references to hoc; 5 in medical literature, 3 in glossaries, occurs in place-names (eg Hockley, Essex) and charters (eg S909). 7 references to mealwe; 4 in medical literature, 3 in glossaries.
Marjoram	Origanum majorana	Names include: organe, wurmille				April 6 2020			18 references to organe; 10 in medical literature, 8 in glossaries. 10 references to wurmille, 1 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries.
Meadow saffron	Colchicum autumnale	grēatewyrt							9 occurrences; 7 in medical literature, 2 in glossaries.
Meadowsweet	Filipendula ulmaria	medowyrt		Orchard			Grows wild		20 occurrences; 13 in medical literature, 7 in glossaries
Monkshood	Aconitum Napellus	Þung (also used for poison & other poisonous plants)					Highly toxic		26 occurrences; 8 in medical literature, 18 in glossaries and in a charter, S630.
Mugwort	Artemisia Vulgaris	mucgwyrt (also used for other plants)							50 occurrences; 32 in medical literature, 18 in glossaries.
Mullein	Verbascum thapsus	Names include: feltwyrt, gescādwyrt					Grows wild in the area		12 references to feltwyrt; 3 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries. 7 references to gescādwyrt; 1 in medical literature, 6 in glossaries.
Mustard	Sinapis alba	senep		Garden		April 6 2020	A salad variety, not necessarily authentic		26 occurrences; 11 in medical literature, 15 in glossaries.
Opium poppy	Papaver somniferum	popig, hwīt		Garden		April 6 2020			4 references to hwīt popig; 3 in medical literature, 1 in a glossary. 27 references to popig (field or opium poppy); 2 in medical literature; 25 in glossaries. In the St Gall garden.
Parsley	Petroselinum crispum	petersilie		Garden		April 6 2020			13 occurrences; 11 in medical literature, 2 in glossaries. In the St Gall garden.
Pennyroyal	Mentha pulegium	pollegie, dweorgedwostle							32 references to pollegie, all in medical literature. 37 references to dweorgedwostle; 24 in medical literature, 13 in glossaries. In the St Gall garden.
Peony	Paeonia	peonia, pionie		Garden		April 8 2020	Transplanted from home garden		4 references to peonia in medical literature and 4 references to pionie in glossaries.
Perforate St. John's Wort	Hypericum Perforatum	No references found
Ribwort plantain	Plantago lanceolata	lǣcewyrt, ribbe							13 references to lǣcewyrt; 6 in medical literature, 7 in glossaries. 35 references to ribbe; 19 in medical literature, 16 in glossaries, and in place-names (eg Ribbesford, Worcs.).
Pot marigold	Calendula officinalis	Names include: sōlosēce, golde		Garden		April 6 2020			10 references to sōlosēce; 4 in medical literature, 6 in glossaries. 1 reference to golde in a glossary; occurs in charters (eg S566) and place-names (eg Golder, Oxon). May be subject of Aldhelm’s riddle 51.
Primrose	Primula vulgaris	No references found		Garden		April 6 2020
Radish	Raphanus sativus	rǣdic, antre							52 references to rǣdic; 44 in medical literature, 8 in glossaries. 24 references to antre; 23 in medical literature, 1 in a glossary. In the St Gall garden.
Rue	Ruta graveolens	rūde		Garden		July 7 2020	Somewhat toxic		106 occurrences; 96 in medical literature, 10 in glossaries, in place-names (eg Rudyard, Staffs.). In the St Gall garden.
Sage	Salvia officinalis	saluie							33 occurrences; 26 in medical literature, 6 in glossaries. In the St Gall garden.
Selfheal	Prunella vulgaris	Possibly brūnwyrt (mainly used for other plants)		Lawn (wild)					31 occurrences
Skirret	Sium sisarum	No references found		Bed of brother Julian		April 9 2020	1 year old plant transplanted from home garden
Sorrel	Rumex acetosa	sūre Names for dock may also refer to sorrel: ampre, docce, leloþre		Garden		April 6 2020			10 references to sūre; 3 in medical literature, 7 in glossaries; occurs in the place-name Sewer, Devon. 15 references to ampre; 11 in medical literature, 4 in glossaries; occurs in the place-name Ampleforth, Yorks. 21 references to docce; 11 in medical literature,10 in glossaries; occurs in charters (eg S480) and place-names (eg Docklow, Herefords.). 8 references to leloþre in glossaries.
Southernwood	Artemisia abrotanum	Names include: aprotane sūþernewudu		Garden		July 7 2020			6 references to aprotane in medical literature. 16 references to sūþernewudu; 7 in medical literature, 9 in glossaries.
Strawberry (wild)	Fragaria vesca	strēawberie		Garden		April 6 2020			32 occurrences; 12 in medical literature, 20 in glossaries; occurs in the place-name Strawberry Lee, Derbys.
Sweet woodruff	Galium odoratum	wudurōfe		Garden		April 6 2020			30 occurrences; 21 in medical references, 9 in glossaries.
Tansy	Tanacetum vulgare	helde mucgwyrt (also used for other plants)		Garden		July 7 2020			15 references to helde; 4 in medical literature, 11 in glossaries. 50 references to mucgwyrt; 32 in medical literature, 18 in glossaries.
Teasel	Dipsacus fullonum	wulfescamb		Meadow			Grows wild		22 occurrences; 10 in medical literature, 12 in glossaries.
Thyme	Thymus vulgaris	cunelle fille (probably both used for wild thyme)		Garden		April 6 2020			6 references to cunelle; 1 in medical literature, 5 in glossaries. 8 references to fille; 2 in medical literature, 6 in glossaries.
Valerian	Valeriana officinalis	ualeriane		Garden		April 20 2020			2 occurrences in medical literature.
Vervain	Verbena officinalis	æsc-þrote							31 references to æscþrote; 17 in medical literature; 14 in glossaries. 7 references to berbene; 5 in medical literature, 2 in glossaries.
Violet	Viola odorata	possible names include bānwyrt, clǣfre (mostly used for other plants) and æppellēaf							24 references to bānwyrt; 14 in medical literature, 10 in glossaries. 20 references to clǣfre; 5 in medical literature, 15 in glossaries. 1 reference to æppellēaf in a glossary.
Wild celery	Apium Graveolens	merce							72 occurrences; 52 in medical literature, 20 in glossaries, occurs in place-names, (eg Marcham, Berks). In the St Gall garden.
Wild garlic	Allium ursinum	hramsa; possibly also brādelēac		Garden		April 10 2020	Transplanted from home garden		20 references to hramsa in glossaries; occurs in placenames (eg Ramsden, Oxon.). 7 references to brādelēac; 2 in medical literature, 5 in glossaries.
Winter savory	Satureja montana	No references found							24 occurences; 7 in medical literature, 17 in glossaries; occurs in place-names (eg Waddon, Surrey) and 30 occurrences in charters.
Woad	Isatis tinctoria	wād
Wormwood	Artemisia absinthium	wermōd		Garden		July 7 2020			104 occurrences; 89 in medical literature, 15 in glossaries.
Yarrow	Achillea Millefolium	gearwe		Garden		April 6 2020			54 occurrences; 38 in medical literature, 16 in glossaries; occurs in the place-name Yarridge (Northumberland). Subject of Aldhelm’s riddle 50.

References

Where not otherwise specified, the source for Old English names is the online Dictionary of Old English Plant Names, which gives extensive references.

Many of the plant names have variant forms and alternatives, but generally only one form is shown here, usually the one that occurs most frequently in texts.