Jacobaea Vulgaris - Literature, Poetry and Mythology

Literature, Poetry and Mythology

The Greek physician Dioscorides (c.40-90 CE) recommended the herb. The two "fathers" of herbalism, Gerard and Culpeper, also recommended the herb.

The poet John Clare had a more positive opinion of the plant, as revealed in this poem of 1831:

Ragwort thou humble flower with tattered leaves

I love to see thee come & litter gold...

Thy waste of shining blossoms richly shields

The sun tanned sward in splendid hues that burn

So bright & glaring that the very light

Of the rich sunshine doth to paleness turn

& seems but very shadows in thy sight.

Josephine Kermode (1852–1937) wrote the following poem about the Cushag.

"The Cushag"

Now, the Cushag, we know,

Must never grow,

Where the farmer's work is done.

But along the rills,

In the heart of the hills,

The Cushag may shine like the sun.

Where the golden flowers,

Have fairy powers,

To gladden our hearts with their grace.

And in Vannin Veg Veen,

In the valleys green,

The Cushags have still a place.

(Vannin Veg Veen is Manx for dear little Isle of Man)

Donald Macalastair of Druim-a-ghinnir on the Isle of Arran told a story of the fairies journeying to Ireland. The ragwort was their transport and every one of them picked a plant, sat astride and arrived in Ireland in an instant.