Without refrigeration or other means to store food, wild plants supplied fruits and vegetables during the growing season prior to modernization. Early settlers relied on the nutritional value they provided. When illness struck, wild plants offered cures and remedies for maladies for anything from a sore throat to skin infections.
If the plants didn't provide relief, early people looked toward their gods for answers. Divine intervention gave certain plants additional medicinal value. Some wildflower had other value as elements to folklore tales of love and history.
Nutritional Value of Wildflowers
In rural areas, settlers may not had access to seed stock. Wild plants supplemented diets. Some plants such as dandelion and lamb's quarters were greatly prized for their supposed medicinal benefits. Settlers observed a return to good health in the spring after eating such plants.
Both plants are rich in vitamins A and C. Without good sources of these vitamins in the diet during the winter, early symptoms of scurvy may have begun. A relief from the gradual weakening and muscle pain must have been deemed miraculous.
Doctrine of Signatures
The Doctrine of Signatures developed by German mystic Jakob Boehme, was a belief that the plant itself held the key to its use. The popular belief of the people of the 16th century to early modern period was that God created plants with a particular signature.
By observing the color or shape of a plant, a herbalist could ascertain what ills a plant could treat. For example, the leaves of the wildflower, hepatica, were thought to resemble the shape of the human liver. Thus, hepatica was used to treat liver ailments. The modern practice of homeopathy created by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, follows similar practices.
Explanations in Wild Plants
Before modern science, man looked to Nature for answers. Whether it be finding love or for removing a curse, wildflowers provides so-called cures for almost any complaint. The folklore of St. Johnswort furnishes such a tale. It was believed to ward off evil spirits. Curiously, it also played a role in love, said to foretell when a young woman would marry.
Wildflower folklore even forecasts the weather. Wildflowers such as chickweed and clover close their petals prior to rain. Therefore, a chickweed plant in full flower is said to forecast fair weather. Likewise, the closed flower of the bog pimpernel foretells of rain.
Observing Wildflowers
The folklore of wildflowers is a record of human observation. Without modern distractions, quick associations could be made between plants and their medicinal value. If the connection wasn't apparent, then God provided it. Wild plants were believed to be reservoirs of knowledge. Close examination of the plants could unlock secrets of any earthly phenomenon, providing answers for anyone that took the time to look.
