Tansy
As a physician, I love discovering the origins of modern medicine in my own backyard.
The driveway leading up to The Beekman Farm evidently is ideal growing conditions for this herbaceous plant with “golden button” flowers.
The ancient Greeks were likely the first to tap into its medicinal powers, and throughout history it has been used for many purposes, including skin lightening, bloating, and fertility.
Today common tansy is used in bug repellents and has been shown in some studies to have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Crushing the flower between your fingers delivers the wonderful scent of sour apples, but keep in mind that some people can be allergic to the oils in the leaves and florets and a contact dermatitis can result from touching the plant.
12 Comments
Skin lightening, bloating, fertility, and bug repellent. It’s amazing the medicinal range of plants. No wonder it is called the Golden Button.
Skin lightening, you say? I’ll be paying close attention to media coverage of Neverland this week. I’ll be looking for fields and fields of Tansy.
I just learned via HSN of all channels that lemons can be used to lighten and smooth rough elbows?! Who knew!
Just curious if you have the right picture, tansy is a solid yellow flower. The picture looks more like Chamomile. Word of warning Tansy get be very invasive–five years later I am still pulling it out. Bill
Hi, Bill
You could be correct.
It looks like it might be Pineapple – Weed , Matricaria matricariodes. When the foliage is crushed there is a scent of pineapple….
Hi, Eileen
Isn’t it funny how one “weed” can be interpreted in so many ways? The mysteries of nature…
In the fall, I put a piece of tansy on the sill between my windows and screens. In the spring there are no dead flies to clean up.
Maria!
You are a genius! Thank you for sharing this tip with us!
dr brent, elaine and bill are correct -it is not tansy, it is pineapple weed, matricaria discoidea;tansy is 1 -5 feet high with a cluster of flat topped yellow button flowers and a distinct odor.
Hi, Sue
Thanks so much for the information. You know we love learning new things!
Dr. Brent:
My family owns a vacation home on the Oregon coast near Tillamook (home of the famous cheese). Tansy grows like a weed there and is very invasive. We spend a whole weekend each year pulling it up and then piling it in a heap to dry out and die. I have to wear rubber-coated gloves because handling this week will cause allergic reactions on my skin. If there are medicinal properties to this “weed” I can say we’ve got quite a crop of it growing.
Hi, Roger
Hmmm—tanzy as a cash crop? Interesting…