Pennyroyal - Historical and Literary Mentions

Historical and Literary Mentions

In Sarah Orne Jewett's novel Country of the Pointed Firs, one of the characters, Mrs. Todd, harvests pennyroyal in a field north of the town.

In the Homeric Hymn of Demeter, Demeter in the guise of an old woman as she searches for the abducted Persephone refuses red wine but accepts a drink of barley, water, and pennyroyal called kykeon.

Aristophanes made reference to pennyroyal as abortifacient in Lysistrata and Peace. Mari Sandoz writes in her book, Slogum House, "She was the fifth of twelve children in the river-bottom family, with a mother who laid the cards and brewed tansy, pennyroyal, and like concoctions for luckless girls who were in need."

George Washington Sears includes his recipe for an insect repellent containing pennyroyal oil in a number of his writings.

The grunge band Nirvana recorded a song named "Pennyroyal Tea."

In the book Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins, pennyroyal is used by Kudra to keep from becoming pregnant.

William Carlos Williams opens his "Kora in Hell: improvisations" city lights books with "Fools have big wombs. For the rest? - here is pennyroyal if one knows to use it. But time is only another liar so go along the wall a little further . . . . . ."

In the Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, Professor Pennyroyal is a bogus historian who leads the protagonists of the story to near death.

In Neal Asher's The Technician and "Alien Archaeology," Penny Royal is the name of a military AI.

The musician Jesca Hoop mentions "Pennyroyal wine" in her 2008 song, Enemy.

In the fantasy book A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, pennyroyal is used as a component in a contraceptive tea.