Wild Herbs @museum.de

M 1: The land here along the River Elbe was cleared in the 12th century. Trees were felled and clearings created. Where a dense, almost impenetrable forest had once stood, settlements and fields were established. Logs and branches were used in construction or as firewood. Now, wild plants were able to spread along the margins of the newly cultivated areas. They benefited from the extra light and the rich nutrient content of the soil. Examples include ground elder and dandelion, still found as weeds in our gardens today. But back then, the locals soon learnt to appreciate them. People experimented to see which wild herbs were tasty and which were bitter, inedible or even poisonous – and which of them had medicinal properties and could be used to treat illnesses.

F 2: The wild herb garden is a reminder of the major importance of wild herbs for nutrition and medicine. You’ll find it between the pump house and the long beds with field crops.

During a period when medicines in the modern sense didn’t exist, people paid a lot of attention to medicinal herbs. Take artemisia vulgaris, known as common mugwort or wormwood, and dubbed the mother of all medicinal herbs. It’s a tall herbaceous plant with pointed, feathery leaves and tiny, fairly inconspicuous flowers. Scholars such as Hildegard von Bingen and Paracelsus recommended it to assist a birth, especially to promote labour, and also for epilepsy. In Roman Catholic countries it was part of a "bouquet of herbs" sacred to the Virgin Mary, and is blessed on the Feast of the Assumption.

M 1: Today, mugwort has faded into the background. At most, it’s added to roast goose at Christmas here in Germany, to make it more digestible. The same thing has happened to many of the plants you’ll find here. Thyme and sage may be well known, but what about spignel (meum athamanticum) or salvia sclaria – clary sage? It is worth taking a closer look!