Tanacetum vulgare is the Latin name for tansy (also known as bitter buttons, golden buttons and other nicknames). Our previous post was about mugwort, another member of the aster family, as tansy also is. Tansy, like mugwort, is not native to North America (it was brought here in seed form in the 1630’s) and is also perceived by some gardeners, horticulturalists, and enviroas invasive, as a weed, a rogue.
You’ll see that common tansy and common mugwort share so much in common.
What draws me to tansy is its cheery, bright yellow buttons. Its smell reminds me of bee pollen or honey.
Its leaves and flowers are fragrant, and in large doses toxic, due to the presence of volatile oil, and thus behaves as an insect repellent for some beetles, most mosquitoes, and flies. These plants were utilized both inside and out to deal with pesky insects as mugwort had been. It was scattered on floors after medieval feasts to dissuade ants, placed above and under beds to thwart cockroaches and bedbugs in sleeping quarters, and hung in barns to keep flies off livestock. Outside it was intentionally planted in European gardens to keep beetles off plants and also enriches garden soil with potassium. Perhaps the most fascinating use of the tansy to me is its use in embalming, because of its long-acting volatile oil containing thujone, that may have preserved bodies longer but probably more likely helped mask odors of decay. Its Latin name, Tanacetum, may come from the Greek word for tansy, athanasia, which translates to immortality. The tansy plants, made into wreaths and placed into coffins or on graves, were so ubiquitous at funerals in New England, that it was seen as a symbol of morbidity.
Tansy was prepared in tea form and used to expel intestinal worms, as mugwort had been. The tansy flowers were used as a coating on meat in earlier times (prior to electricity) to preserve it for days. Tansy was used in place of hops in beer making, as mugwort had been.
We have not and will not use this plant orally, and cannot endorse nor advise on its use as a food, a medicine or otherwise administered internally. Beware that this plant is toxic, due to thujone, and can cause convulsions and death. Pregnant woman should never consume this herb.
Used externally, it is and was used in baths with epsom salt to ease backache, arthritis, and rheumatism. It must be said that tansy, like other plants can cause contact dermatitis (itchiness, rash, etc.).
Tansy can be placed on altars honoring the dead, used in altars to Venus, used in renewal and rebirth spell work, and for longevity.