Honeywort (Cerinthe major purpurascens) Info
This wonderful plant has a long association with
bees. More than 2000 years ago, Virgil described using this plant as an offering to swarming bees
in order to entice them into a new hive: "Here sprinkle the odors
ordained, crushed balm and lowly tufts of
honeywort, and make a tinkling round about and clash the cymbals of the
goddess Mother; they will settle on the scented seat and in their way
creep into the inmost covert of their nest." It got its name
"cerinthe" because of the waxiness of its leaves and because it was
thought bees got wax for their hives from this plant. In his
16th-century herbal, Gerard recommends growing honeywort just for the
pleasure of sipping the nectar bee-wise from the tubular flowers and enjoying
the pleasantly waxy flavor of the leaves. This plant is very attractive
to bees because of the great amount of nectar in the flowers;
hummingbirds will also visit it. Although it was popular in the
Renaissance--enough to rate a mention in Culpeper--this native of the
Mediterranean region was subsequently rarely grown the West until a
couple decades ago. Apparently because it is a quick-growing plant--it
can go from seed for blooms in 10-12 weeks and have two generations in
one season--this is considered a Mercury herb. Because it is so favored
by bees, a martial insect, it would be a good herb to use in works
where you want to win over a hostile force or attract defensive hosts. This member of the borage family is also
known as the blue shrimp plant and the blue wax flower. Top.
How to grow: Soak the
large seeds overnight and sow 3/4" deep outside after the last frost in
your area or start indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost, planting in
Jiffy-7 pellets. It will germinate in 7-21 days at 70F/21C. Watch out
for damping off if you are starting them inside. Transplant to full sun
and good soil for taller plants, partial shade for shorter, less floppy
plants. It can be grown in pots. A half-hardy perennial that freely reseeds,
in all but the warmest parts of
North America it should be considered an annual. The leaves on this plant have a nice greyish/white "bloom" that makes
them look more waxy. As the plant matures, the bracts (a leaf that
acts like a flower petal) around the flower will change from green to
purple to bright blue. Blue honeywort does well
with heat but needs water. Harvest seeds before the pods hurl them around and plant in
spring. This variety of blue honeywort gets 35in/90cm high and wide, taller in full
sun. Deadheading will produce more flowers and more branching. It makes a good cut flower.
General growing info.Top
Uses in
Witchcraft & Magic:
Bee Magick Defensive Magick Attracting
Protectors Mercury Herb