Rue
Ruta graveolens
The herb of grace. The herb of repentance. The herb of things left unsaid.
Overview
Rue is a plant of contradictions held together by a persistent, penetrating smell that divides opinion absolutely — some find it medicinal and clean, others find it nauseating. It is grey-blue, small-leaved, and quietly handsome in a knot garden. It has been used in protective magic since antiquity, carried by judges into plague-ridden courtrooms, laid on altars, woven into bridal wreaths, and grown in churchyards. Shakespeare used it as a symbol of sorrow and repentance. It was also used to cause miscarriage. The name of regret in English — "to rue" — may or may not share etymology with the plant, but the association has long since made itself at home.
Botanical Notes
A small, woody-based perennial subshrub reaching 30–60cm with deeply divided, blue-grey leaves that contain volatile oil glands visible as tiny translucent dots when held to light. Small, yellow, four-petalled flowers from June to September. Strongly and persistently aromatic. Native to the Balkans and Iberian Peninsula; cultivated throughout Europe for centuries. The furanocoumarins in the sap are powerfully phototoxic — contact with sap followed by sun exposure causes severe blistering.
Lore & History
Rue appears in the Salerno medical tradition, in Pliny's Naturalis Historia, and in the writings of Hildegard of Bingen as a herb of purification, mental clarity, and protection against poison and pestilence. Leonardo da Vinci claimed it improved his eyesight and used it habitually. It was strewn in courtrooms and carried in posies called tussie-mussies as a ward against gaol fever. In Catholic tradition, the aspergillum used to sprinkle holy water was historically a bundle of rue — the connection between "herb of grace" and the grace of the sacrament was not accidental. In Italian mal'occhio tradition it is the primary herb of protection against the evil eye.
Warnings
The furancoumarin compounds in fresh rue sap cause severe phototoxic burns — wear gloves and cover skin when handling in daylight; wash any sap off immediately. Rue is a powerful emmenagogue and abortifacient: it has been used to induce miscarriage throughout history and must not be taken internally in any quantity during pregnancy. Large internal doses cause violent gastrointestinal symptoms, liver damage, and kidney damage. As a culinary herb in very small quantities in some Italian dishes it is generally considered safe, but the margin is not generous.