Balsam tansy or Lady’s mint

A forgotten plant such as the balsam tansy is being used and researched again, especially because there is a renewed interest in the Medieval abbess Hildegard von Bingen. An article then, not about Hildegard but about the history and use of Tanacetum balsamita or balsam tansy. In the garden at the end of August, the balsam tansy or lady’s mint starts to bloom. The yellow flower buds (only tube flowers) look very similar to tansy, not surprising, they also belong in the same genus, one is Tanacetum balsamita and the other Tanacetum vulgare. Furthermore, they are not very similar, the leaf of the lady’s mint is not incised, is much lighter green and smells a bit minty.

In England it was previously used to flavor beer, hence the name Ale-cost. Costmary would come from costus, oriental and Mary, from our Blessed Virgin. Especially in the Middle Ages, the plant was apparently strongly linked to Mary, the French name Herbe Sainte-Marie and the German Marienblatt also indicate this. Although these names may also be related to its use in the Middle Ages as a women’s herb. The Dutch name women’s coin also refers to this.

A curious use of the balsam tansy can be found in the German folk names ‘Riechblättchen oder “Schmeckablaadl”, they were used as bookmarks because of their scent, especially in church prayer books. The refreshing scent was intended to ensure that churchgoers stayed awake during the pastor’s boring sermons.

Gerard, Culpepper and Strabo about women’s coin

The English herbalist Gerard writes ‘The Conserve made with leaves of Costmaria and sugar doth warm and dry the braine and openeth the stops of the same; stoppeth all catarrhes, rheumes and distillations, taken in the quantity of a beane.’ And the famous Culpepper: …It is an especial friend and help to evil, weak and cold livers. He also said: Balsam tansy is such an incredibly common plant that it can be found in almost every garden. Walahfrid Strabo then sings about the laxative effect of the women’s mint: “… Man bought the Wurzel, with great relief from the pain and the joy of the journey.

Hildegard and the balsam tansy

We owe the contemporary interest in the plant to the renewed interest in the writings of Hildegard von Bingen. She wrote about the Balsamita: ‘Si autem multis et diversis cogitationibus scientia et sensus eujuspiam evacuantur…. If a man’s knowledge and reason have been drained by various thoughts, so that he becomes mad, then he should take balsam and three times as much fennel, and boil them together in water, and after throwing away the herbs he should drink the cooled water frequently.
But whoever has many lice should crush balsam with fat and mix it together. He must anoint himself with it around his neck and his armpits, and the lice will die. And just as balsam herb resists poison, it also works against lice.
These are some of the interesting yet strange indications from the Hildegard writings. This Hildegard medicine is popular again.

Dodoens about the Groote Balseme Cruijdeboeck 1554

Dodonaeus makes a kind of tincture from the plant with wine against stomach cramps. The leaves of that great balm alone or with the zest of wild parsnips are soaked in wine and the ghedroncken ghenesen that crimpsel of the buycx and the stems that root melison. That preservation of the leaves with sugar heats up/ heats up and the dryness of the brain/ opens the congestion of the self/ and it is very good to say that the course and the wonderful flow of the catarrh/ a large bean has been taken away.

Matthiolus also provides an explanation for the name balm. He writes ‘The field shearers and women consider this crop to be a healing herb, which is why it is also called balm’ . A balm on the wounds. He also makes egg cakes with sage and balsam wormwood as a delicacy and as a medicine, and modern herbalists also like this. ‘ Great balsam, like sage and similar herbs, is also added to food and especially to egg cakes, and is very tasty and useful in this, actually in the defects of women, others fry it with flour in butter or oil’. We also find the same recipe at Dodoens. The leaf can certainly be used in small quantities in cookies, pastries, waffles and pancakes.

Contemporary research

An essential oil is distilled from the leaf with a bactericidal and antifungal effect, but difficult to use because of its toxicity. The results of the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil indicated that the oil exhibited moderate to high antimicrobial activity. An anti-inflammatory effect was also established. The researchers concluded ‘the results showed that Tanacetum balsamita L. subsp. and Helichrysum plicatum DC. subsp. had a significant anti-inflammatory activity. However, it remains difficult to simply use this plant as an enthusiast. Small amounts in tea or pastries are safe, as they can have a digestive and antispasmodic effect, if necessary used together with real chamomile and peppermint. It may also be effective against menstrual pain, which is what the name women’s mint also refers to.

Other names

The official Latin name has changed quite a bit in recent years

• Balsamita major Desf.
• Balsamita major Desf. Var. tanacetoides (Boiss.) Moldenke
• Chrysanthemum balsamita (L.) Baill., non L.
• Chrysanthemum balsamita (L.) Baill. Var. tanacetoides Boiss.
• Pyrethrum majus (Desf.) Tzvelev.