Native PI ants and Herbs 
that Charm and Heal 
The Lore and Legend of Same Varieties of Southwestern Vegetation 
T T T E are told that our superstitions are but degenerated forms 
V V of scientific facts, and that Science is continually learning 
from Superstition. The Mexican who sows Fennel in his garden 
knows that “to sow Fennel is to sow sorrow,” but he offsets this 
act by planting Rosemary and Blue Sage at his door, the former 
symbolic of happiness and the latter indicative of long life. 
It is said that Charlemagne forced his soldiers to wear Flouseleek 
on their clothing as a measure of good luck; that the young, pious 
Crusader, Louis VII, courted the favor of the Iris which has “a 
sword for its leaf and a lily for its heart,” according to Ruskin; 
and where is the old-fashioned American mother who tied a bit 
of asafetida about her offspring’s neck during periods of con¬ 
tagion? ^ 
A modern poet writes thusly of the native plants— 
"For flowers, like men, are finest when 
There’s least of the wild remaining.” 
Not everyone will agree with this viewpoint. Whatever the 
mission of plants and flowers, it is interesting to note 
that to certain of them there has always been at¬ 
tributed particular mystical powers and curative 
properties. Nature, with her “infinite variety,” 
has seemed to have a definite fondnes for the 
wilding. 
While the various opposing 
medical schools have been warring 
Science 
of 
Superstition 
Herbs 
in 
Legend 
185 
