Growing herbs is easy enough, but have you ever read up on the strange names once used for the plants we use in the kitchen? The list below contains the common names, botanical names, and some of the more unusual names of the herbs we know.
I compiled and published this list in a newsletter over 20 years ago, but want to share it again.
Acacia
Acacia senegal
Cape gum, Egyptian thorn, gum arabic tree.
Adder’s tongue
Erythronium americanum
Dog-tooth violet, lamb’s tongue, rattlesnake violet, snake leaf, yellow snake leaf, yellow snowdrop, yellow trout-lily.
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Buffalo herb, lucerne, purple medic.
Amaranth
Amaranthus hypochondriacus
Lady bleeding, lovely bleeding, pilewort, prince’s feather, red cockscomb, spleen amaranth.
American hellebore
Veratrum viride
American white hellebore, bugbane, devil’s bite, earth gall, green hellebore, Indian poke, itchweed, tickleweed.
Angelica
Angelica archangelica or officinalis
Archangel, masterwort.
Arnica (toxic)
Arnica montana
Leopardsbane, mountain tobacco, wolfsbane.
Arum
Arum maculatum
Cocky baby, cypress powder, dragon root, gaglee, ladysmock, starchwort.
Balm
Melissa officinalis
Balm mint, bee balm, blue balm, cure-all, dropsy plant, lemon balm, melissa.
Basil
Ocimum basilicum
American dittany, alabahaca, our herb, St. Josephwort, witches’ herb.
Bedstraw
Galium aparine
Cleavers, cleaverwort, coach weed, goose grass, gosling weed, hedge-burs, loveman, stick-a-back, sweethearts.
Belladonna (poisonous)
Atropa belladonna
Black cherry, deadly nightshade, dwale, poison black cherry.
Bennet
Geum urbanum
Avens, blessed herb, golden star, star of the earth.
Betony
Stachys officinalis
Bishopwort, lousewort, purple betony, wood betony.
Birthroot
Trillium erectum
Bethroot, coughroot, ground lily, Indian balm, Indian shamrock, jew’s harp plant, lamb’s quarters, milk ipecac, nodding wakerobin, rattlesnake root, snakebite, three-leaved nightshade.
Bistort
Polygonum bistorta
Dragonwort, easter giant, English serpentary, osterick, passions, patience dock, red legs, snakeweed, sweet dock.
Blind nettle
Lamium album
Dead nettle, nettle flowers, stingless nettle, white archangel.
Blue cohosh
Caulophyllum thalictroides
Beechdrops, blue ginseng, papoose root, squaw root, yellow ginseng.
Blue vervain
Verbane hastata
Indian hyssop, purvain, simpler’s joy, traveler’s joy.
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Agueweed, crosswort, feverwort, Indian sage, sweating plant, teasel, thoroughwort, vegetable antimony, wood boneset.
Borage
Borago officinalis
Bugloss, burrage, common bugloss.
Burdock
Arctium lappa
Bardana, beggar’s buttons, burrseed, clotbur, cocklebur, grass burdock, happy major, hardock, hareburr, personata, turkey burrseed.
Caledula
Calendula officinalis
Garden marigold, holigold, Mary bud, pot marigold.
Chamomile
Anthemis nobilis
Camamyle, chamaimelon, ground apple, maythen, whig plant.
Cinquefoil
Potentilla anserina
Silverweed, crampweed, goosegrass, goose tansy, moor grass, silver cinquefoil.
Comfrey
Symphytum officinale
Assear, blackwort, boneset, bruisewort, consolida, consound, gum plant, healing herb, knitback, salsify, slippery root, wallwort, yalluc.
Cowslip
Caltha palustris
American cowslip, marsh marigold, meadow bouts, palsywort, water dragon.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen europaeum
Groundbread, sowbread, swinebread.
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Blow ball, cankerwort, lion’s tooth, priest’s crown, puffball, swine snout, white endive, wild endive.
Elecampane
Inula helenium
Elfdock, elfwort, horse-elder, horseheal, scabwort.
European vervain
Verbena officinalis
Common verbena, enchanter’s herb, herb of the cross, holy herb, Juno’s tears, pigeon’s grass, pigeonweed, simpler’s joy, vervain.
Figwort
Scrophularia nodosa
Carpenter’s square, figwort root, heal-all, kernelwort, knotty-rooted figwort, scrofula plant.
Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis
Eye balm, eye root, ground raspberry, Indian plant, jaundice root, orangeroot, tumeric root, yellow puccoon, yellowroot.
Goldthread
Coptis trifoliata
Canker root, mouth root, yellow root.
Ground ivy
Nepeta hederacea
Ale hoof, cat’s foot, cat’s paw, creeping Charlie, gill-over-the-ground, gillrun, hat maids, hedge maids, turnoff.
Henbane
Hyoscyamus niger
Black henbane, devil’s eye, fetid nightshade, hen bell, hog bean, Jupiter’s bean, poison tobacco, stinking nightshade.
Herb Robert
Geranium robertianum
Dragon’s blood, stork bill, wild crane’s bill.
Hound’s Tongue (toxic)
Cynoglossum officinale
Dog bur, dog’s tongue, gypsy flower, sheep lice, wool mat.
Meadowsweet
Filipendula ulmaria
Bridewort, dolloff, dollar, gravel root, lady of the meadow, little queen, mead sweet, meadow wort, pride of the meadow, queen of the meadow, steeplebush, trumpet weed.
Milfoil
Achillea millefolium
Arrow root, death flower, devil’s bit, devil’s plaything, eerie, field hops, hundred-leaved grass, knight’s milfoil, knyghten, ladies’ mantle, military herb, noble yarrow, nosebleed, old man’s mustard, old man’s pepper, seven year’s love, snake’s grass, soldier’s woundwort, stanch weed, thousand seal, wound wort, yarrow, yarrow.
Motherwort
Leonurus cardiaca
Lion’s ear, lion’s tail, Roman motherwort, throwwort.
Mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris
Artemisia, Artemis herb, common mugwort, felon herb, muggins, naughty man, old man, old uncle Harry, sailor’s tobacco, with herb.
Mullien
Verbascum thapsus
Aaron’s rod, blanket leaf, candlewick plant, clot, doffle, feltwort, flannel plant, hag’s taper, hedge taper, Jupiter’s staff, lady’s foxglove, old man’s fennel, Peter’s staff, shepherd’s club, shepherd’s herb, torches, velvetback, velvet plant.
Nightshade
Solanum dulcamara
Bittersweet nightshade, bittersweet, bittersweet twigs, blue nightshade, felonwort, fever twig, garden nightshade, nightshade vine, scarlet berry, staff vine, violet bloom, woody, woody nightshade.
Queen of the Meadow
Eupatorium purpureum
Gravelroot, Joe eye weed, kidney root, purple boneset, trumpet weed.
Ragwort
Senecio aureus
Cocash weed, cough weed, golden ragwort, grundy swallow, life root, squaw weed.
St. Johnswort
Hypericum perforatum
Amber, goat weed, Klamath weed, Tipton weed.
Shepherd’s Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris
Cocowort, pickpocket, St. James’ weed, shepherd’s heart, toy wort.
Skullcap
Scutellaria lateriflora
Blue skullcap, blue pimpernel, helmet flower, hood wort, mad dog weed, side flowering skullcap.
Soapwort
Saponaria officinalis
Bouncing Bet, bruisewort, dog cloves, old maids’ pink, soap root.
Tansy (poisonous)
Tanacetum vulgare
Bitter buttons, hindheal, parsley fern.
Woodruff
Asperula odorata
Herb Walter, master of the wood, sweet woodruff, woodrove, woodward.
Yerba Santa
Eriodictyon californicum
Bearsweed, consumptive’s weed, holy herb, mountain balm, tarweed.
