Tansy

Read about Tansy in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare, Linn.). A coarse-growing herbaceous perennial naturalized from middle Europe, and a familiar occupant of old gardens, waste places, and roadsides. Its common name is said to be derived from athanasia, immortality, an idea suggested to the ancient Greeks by the characteristic permanent possession it takes of the soil. Its annual upright usually unbranched stems, which rise about 3 feet from the perennial root, bear greatly divided deeply cut compound bitter aromatic leaves and rather dense corymbs of numerous small yellow flower-heads which appear in midsummer. The seed, which is small, is marked by five rather prominent grayish ribs and retains its vitality for about two years. Formerly its leaves were in great favor as a seasoning for various culinary preparations, especially puddings and omelettes, uses now almost obsolete. By the medical profession, its tonic and stimulant properties and its efficacy in hysterical and dropsical disorders are still recognized, although other medicines are more popular. In domestic practice it played an early role as an anthelmintic and stomachic and is still somewhat popular as a local agent to relieve the pain of muscular rheumatism, bruises, and chronic ulcers. The wild plants usually satisfy all demands, but when no wild supply is at hand seed may be used to start the half-dozen specimens that a family should need. Easily started, readily transplanted or divided, tansy requires no special care in cultivation except to keep it clear of weeds and to prevent its spreading and thus becoming troublesome. It will thrive in almost all soils and situations that are not too wet. For botanical account, see Tanacetum. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Read about Tansy in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Tanacetum vulgare, Linn. (Chrysanthemum vulgare, Bernh.). Tansy. Fig. 3770. St. robust, erect, 2-3 ft., leafy to the summit: lvs. pinnately divided into linear-lanceolate segms. which are serrate or pinnately cut: fl.- heads 1/4 – 1/2 in. across, numerous, in a dense flat-topped cyme. July-Sept. Eu. Adventive in the U. S. Var. crispum, DC., has the lvs. more cut and crisped. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

? Tansy
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Tanacetum Species: T. vulgare
Binomial name
Tanacetum vulgare L.

Illustration of a tansy

The Tansy, Common Tansy, or Golden Buttons (Tanacetum vulgare) is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family that is native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has also become established as an invasive wild plant in other parts of the world.

It is a flower herb with finely divided compound leaves and yellow, buttonlike flowers. It has a stout, somewhat reddish, erect stem, usually smooth, 50-150 cm tall, and branching near the top. The leaves are alternate, 10-15 cm long and are pinnately lobed, divided almost to the center into about seven pairs of segments or lobes which are again divided into smaller lobes having saw-toothed edges, thus giving the leaf a somewhat fernlike appearance. The roundish, flat-topped, buttonlike, yellow flower heads are produced in terminal clusters from mid to late summer. The scent is similar to that of camphor with hints of rosemary. The leaves and flowers are said to be poisonous if consumed in large quantities.

The plant's volatile oil is high in thujone, a substance found in absinthe that can cause convulsions.

Tansy was formerly used as a flavouring for puddings and omelets, but that is almost unknown now. But they were certainly relished in days gone by, for Gerarde speaks of them as "pleasant in taste", and he recommends tansy sweetmeats as "an especial thing against the gout, if every day for a certain space a reasonable quantitie thereof be eaten fasting". According to liquor historian A. J. Baime's book Big Shots, bourbon magnate Jack Daniel enjoyed drinking his bourbon with sugar and crushed tansy leaf. It has also been used as a medicinal herb. Bitter tea made with the blossoms of T. vulgare has been effectively used for centuries as an anthelmintic (vermifuge). Note that only T. vulgare is used in medicinal preparations; all species of tansy are toxic, and an overdose can be fatal. As a natural insect repellent, it was often planted next to kitchen doors to keep ants out. Some insects, notably the tansy beetle, have evolved resistance to tansy and live almost exclusively on it.

Tansy is now being used as a girl's name in the United Kingdom, because many people think it is a beautiful herb.Template:Fact

Ethnomedical Uses

The dried flowering herb of Tanacetum is used ethnomedically to treat migraine, neuralgia, and rheumatism, and as an antihelminthic, in conjunction with a competent herbalist to circumvent any possible toxicity.

Other common names include Bitter button, Cow bitter, Golden button, and Mugwort.

A portion of a nineteenth-century poem by John Clare describes the delight of tansy and other herbs:
And where the marjoram once, and sage, and rue,
And balm, and mint, with curl'd-leaf parsley grew,
And double marigolds, and silver thyme,
And pumpkins 'neath the window climb;
And where I often, when a child, for hours
Tried through the pales to get the tempting flowers,
As lady's laces, everlasting peas,
True-love-lies-bleeding, with the hearts-at-ease,
And golden rods, and tansy running high,
That o'er the pale-tops smiled on passers-by.
From "The Cross Roads; or, The Haymaker's Story", available from a collection at Project Gutenberg.

See also

• Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) which in some regions is called "tansy ragwort"