Episode 23: Anti-Plague Perfume & Festive Flooring- Rosemary
Hello, and welcome back to another week of Rooted! This week we’re digging into an herby and evergreen favorite- Rosemary!
Rosemary, or Salvia rosmarinus is a member of the Lamiaceae family, with famous relatives like Sage, Mint, and basil- all plants we’ll explore eventually!
Rosemary is an evergreen shrub native to the mediterranean. It does well in places with loamy soil, and is extremely drought tolerant. While it prefers temperate areas (ideally with a sea breeze) it’s honestly not too picky- it’s even able to take temperatures as low as -4 degrees F (-20 C)! It can have up to a 3ft by 3ft spread on average, with some varieties of rosemary living up to 30 years!
Most of us are familiar with rosemary as the tiny little sprigs you buy at the store around the holidays, with tiny green needles coming off of a woody stem. In temperate climates, rosemary tends to bloom almost year round- starting in early february and sometimes blooming well into december. Its small blue, white, pink, or yellow flowers are pollinator favorites due to their long availability and easily accessible shape.
Rosemary isn’t just popular with pollinators though - it’s been a crowd favorite for….pretty much forever.
In Rome, they called rosemary “dew of the sea” because it grows best in areas of the Mediterranean near the sea. In fact, the scientific name Salvia Rosmarinus is made up of the latin words for sea and dew!
The Greeks and Romans believed rosemary was tied to improving memory, so often gods and scholars were depicted holding springs of it- showing they had mastered their minds and memories.
Meanwhile in Egypt, rosemary was commonly used as a part of embalming and burial ceremonies for the dead. In embalming, it is believed that rosemary was partially used in embalming powder- applied directly to the bandaged and vital organs- due to its believed ability to slow down the decomposition of the body, keep bugs and flies away, and to keep the less-than-pleasant smells at bay. This also led to the practice in many cultures of carrying springs of rosemary out of a funeral ceremony to symbolize the living literally carrying the memory of the deceased with them.
Then in the 1500s Rosemary made its way to england where it was naturalized and spread across europe in all of it’s green, herby glory.
Once it got there, it made it’s way into all kinds of stuff- everything from weddings to perfume.
In weddings, rosemary was often carried in the bridal bouquet to help the couple remember their wedding vows long after the day, while it’s evergreen nature symbolized everlasting and enduring love.
Before getting married, young women could also apparently learn who there were supposed to marry by either taking a few plants (one for each suitor) and placing them in the same pot, with whichever one growing the largest being the person they should marry OR by placing a pie tin of flour under a rosemary bush on midsummer’s eve, then returning in the morning to find their future spouse’s initials written in the flour… finding a partner before tinder seems like it was ROUGH.
Another thing rosemary can bring to your life? Luck.
The story goes that if you smelled rosemary on christmas eve, you would have good luck in the new year. Today we see this through by adding rosemary to our traditional holiday food and decor, but back in the middle ages folks used to sprinkle rosemary all over their floors so when they walked over it the scent filled the room. One way of doing it, I guess…
Another (less messy) way to unleash the scent of rosemary in a room? Hungary water- an early perfume.
Hungary water was made by mixing fresh rosemary with brandy, though overtime additional plants and spirits were added. This mixture was used as not only a perfume, but also touted as a cureall, promising to solve anything from a headache to ringing of the ears.
It was also used to combat the black plague, both because it masked the ever-present smell of death AND because it had antibacterial properties that helped to kill the germs that were running rampant across europe.
Another common remedy to the plague? 4 thieves vinegar.
There are a few stories about how this stuff came to be…one version of the story is that 4 thieves, desperate to make ends meet, and determined not to miss an opportunity- no matter how gruesome- decided to turn to grave robbing as the black death tore apart their town.
These thieves may have been a little reckless, but they weren’t dumb. Before they robbed the graves, they would use this mixture to protect themselves from the bacteria. One fateful day they got caught, and in exchange for their freedom, they gave up their recipe.
In another version of the same story, the thieves had actually already been caught, and as punishment were forced to dig graves for those who succumbed to the plague. In order to protect themselves, they created the vinegar.
The mixture- a combination of wormwood, rosemary, lavender, camphor, garlic, clove, some form of spirit, and white wine vinegar, was believed to be effective due to a few factors. For starters, some of the ingredients- namely the rosemary and wormwood, are effective at preventing and repelling fleas- a known carrier of the virus. In addition to that, most of these ingredients serve as antibacterial or microbials, making the combination pretty effective for warding off just about any illness! The modern day version of this is called thieves oil, and it’s an essential oil blend of all the botanical elements listed above.
Rosemary doesn't just keep you safe from germs though, it’s commonly used in witchcraft to protect from a few different things.
In more ancient practices it was believed that drinking from a rosemary spoon (a spoon made from the wood of the shrub) prevented you from getting poisoned.
Nowadays rosemary is more commonly used in plantings and in incense to prevent negative energy from entering the space or to cleanse it. In plantings, this is done by planting rosemary on both sides of the door- ensuring bad intentions can’t cross the threshold even if the call is coming from inside the house..
In folk medicine rosemary was used for many things! On top of the thieves oil we already discussed, people used rosemary to relieve headache, indigestion, anxiety, and even certain neuropathic diseases.
Today, there are still plenty of uses for rosemary in medicine, but we still need lots of research to be certain about how it all works in people.
One interesting way rosemary is being used in medicine is as an antidepressant! According to a few precursory studies a dose of rosemary oil administered to mice for 14 days had similar impacts as a standard dosage of fluoxetine- more commonly known as Prozac.
A lot isn't known on the specifics here, but what we DO know is that the chemicals in rosemary extract interact with the noradrenergic , dopaminergic and serotonergic ( systems which could reduce anhedonic-like behavior and hyperactivity associated with hippocampal acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in depressed mice.
In simpler terms, these chemicals interact systems in your brain that put out chemicals that can make you feel depressed or anxious, and tell them to cut that shit out and chill a little… but way more research is needed before we can confidently say this is the case for mice, let alone in humans.
Tying in to what we learned WAY earlier- some studies have also shown that rosemary is, indeed, effective in improving memory, and even helping to reduce some symptoms of Alzheimers. We now know that rosmarinic acid is an antioxidant, and knowing that many elements of the brain that control memory are extremely prone to oxidative stress, it makes sense that rosemary oil could help keep brain fog, memory loss, and even alzheimers at bay. Its also great for headaches for a similar reason.
We all likely know rosemary best for the distinct flavor it adds to our food, which is said to be slightly citrusy, pine-y and with hints of lavender, mint, and sage. It’s commonly paired with chicken, orange, lamb, and- of course- many traditional mediterranean dishes.
A less common, but equally delightful way to use rosemary is in a naturally carbonated wild soda! This is possible because of fermentation, and the wild yeast found on rosemary’s blooms.
Making the soda is pretty simple. You just mix some of the wild blooms and leaves with a little sugar and some water, then leave it to ferment for a few days, checking in every once in a while to make sure your container doesn’t explode!
The resulting soda is lightly carbonated, and infused with delightfully fragrant and flavorful rosemary. I’ll link an actual recipe in the blog if you want to learn more!
Speaking of fragrant, Rosemary is still commonly used in perfume, even though Hungary water fell by the wayside like 3 centuries ago. While it isnt always the most forward note in the scent, rosemary is often mixed with other floral or citrus-y or even woods-y botanicals to create complexly layered scents that have a hint of evergreen freshness.
Aside from just making you smell better, rosemary can also help you grow longer and more luxurious hair! It’s commonly used in hair masks, scalp massages, and even in some shampoos to help strengthen hair and encourage more vigorous growth.
All and All, rosemary has always played a TON of roles across the world and has certainly earned its place in herb gardens everywhere! Next time you see it (or smell it) I hope you’ll take a moment to really breathe it in, and let it help you remember just how lovely it is…
