Ruta graveolens

• Ruta graveolens
• Rutaceae family
• Hardy perennial
• Also known as herb of grace and herb of repentance

Common rue is an herb of many connotations. It’s also known as herb of grace, or herbygrass, from its use in the early Roman Catholic Church to sprinkle holy water and wash away sins. (Hyssop was the herb of choice in the Middle Ages, but rue was also used, perhaps because of its long-standing reputation as a disinfectant.) The custom derived from a Roman ceremony (using a laurel branch) to purify weapons and standards following a battle.

Rue is associated with sorrow, regret and compassion only in the English language. When the Romans introduced the rue herb plant to England, they called it by its Latin name (now the generic name), Ruta. When Anglicized and shortened to “rue,” the name sounded just like the word meaning “sorrow,” but that word comes from an Old English word, hreow. (Some believe that the word Ruta comes from a Greek word meaning “to set free.”) The specific name, graveolens, is Latin for “having a strong or offensive smell” (dill is Anethum graveolens). Whether rue’s odor is either strong or offensive is open to debate; usually, it’s described as “musty.” Ruta is the genus belonging to the family Rutaceae, members of which include aromatic citrus trees as well as gas plant (Dictamnus albus), a lovely white- or pink-flowered perennial.

Using Common Rue
Besides a musty odor, rue leaves have a bitter flavor. Nevertheless, the oil and fresh or dried leaves have been widely used in perfumes and foods of all sorts. The seeds were used in early Roman cooking. In the Middle Ages, the leaves were a strewing herb believed to dispel insects, scorpions and serpents. Holding a sprig up to one’s nose was thought to ward off plague, and a sprig hung around the neck was thought to protect against disease as late as the mid-19th century. Courtrooms in England were strewn with rue to protect the judges from “jail fever.” Today, both the herb and the oil are used as a “flavor component” of a wide variety of processed foods and beverages, though in minute quantities. Rue still figures in the diet of some cultures. Not only does a little go a long way because of the bitterness, but more than a little is toxic, causing gastrointestinal and other symptoms similar to some of those for which it was given as a remedy.

Warts, cancer, poor eyesight, worms, scarlet fever and nervousness as a result of witchcraft are a few of the conditions that rue has been summoned to treat. It’s likely that rue’s reputation as a medicinal herb arose because of its strong smell and bitter flavor. The fibrous roots of this herb reminded some people of the blood vessels in the eye, which may account for its use as an eyestrain treatment.