Ruta graveolens
Ruta graveolens , commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of Ruta grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is now grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It is also cultivated as a medicinal herb, as a condiment, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent.
Etymology
The specific epithet graveolens refers to the strong-smelling leaves.Uses
Traditional use
In the ancient Roman world, the naturalists Pedanius Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder recommended that rue be combined with the poisonous shrub oleander to be drunk as an antidote to poisonous snake bites.The Tacuinum Sanitatis, a medieval handbook on wellness, lists these properties of rue:
near a fig tree.
- Nature: Warm and dry in the third degree
- Usefulness: It sharpens the eyesight and dissipates flatulence.
- Dangers: It augments the sperm and dampens the desire for coitus.
- Neutralization of the Dangers: With foods that multiply the sperm.
The refined oil of rue is an emmenagogue and was cited by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder and the gynecologist Soranus as a potent abortifacient.
on the heraldic banner of Saxony
Culinary use
Rue has a culinary use, but since it is bitter and gastric discomfort may be experienced by some individuals, it is used sparingly. Although used more extensively in former times, it is not a herb that is typically found in modern cuisine. Today it is largely unknown to the general public and most chefs, and unavailable in grocery stores. It is a component of berbere, the characteristic Ethiopian spice mixture, and as such is encountered in Ethiopian cuisine. Also in Ethiopia, fresh rue is dipped in coffee before drinking it.It has a variety of other culinary uses:
- It was used extensively in ancient Near Eastern and Roman cuisine.
- Rue is used as a traditional flavouring in Greece and other Mediterranean countries.
- In Istria, and in Northern Italy, it is used to give a special flavour to grappa/raki and most of the time a little branch of the plant can be found in the bottle. This is called grappa alla ruta.
- Seeds can be used for porridge.
- The bitter leaf can be added to eggs, cheese, fish, or mixed with damson plums and wine to produce a meat sauce.
- In Italy in Friuli Venezia-Giulia, the young branches of the plant are dipped in a batter, deep-fried in oil, and consumed with salt or sugar. They are also used on their own to aromatise a specific type of omelette.
- Used in Old World beers as flavouring ingredient.
Other
Most cats dislike the smell of it, and it can, therefore, be used as a deterrent to them.
Caterpillars of some subspecies of the butterfly Papilio machaon feed on rue, as well as other plants. The caterpillars of Papilio xuthus also feed readily on it.
In South India, rue is recommended for home gardens to repel snakes.
Rue is also a common ingredient in witchcraft and spell making. During the Middle Ages it was a symbol of recognition between witches. The Catholic Church also used a branch of rue to sprinkle holy water on its followers during this time known as the "herb of grace." Hasidic Jews also were taught that rue should be placed into amulets to be protected from epidemics and plagues. This was taught by Rabbi Isaac of Komarno in his comments to Sefer Adam Yashar in the name of Rabbi Isaac Luria.
Toxicity
Rue extracts are mutagenic and hepatotoxic. Large doses can cause violent gastric pain, vomiting, systemic complications, and death.Exposure to common rue, or herbal preparations derived from it, can cause severe phytophotodermatitis which results in burn-like blisters on the skin.
Chemistry
A series of furanoacridones and two acridone alkaloids have been isolated from R. graveolens. It also contains coumarins and limonoids.Cell cultures produce the coumarins umbelliferone, scopoletin, psoralen, xanthotoxin, isopimpinellin, rutamarin and rutacultin, and the alkaloids skimmianine, kokusaginine, 6-methoxydictamnine and edulinine.
The ethyl acetate extract of R. graveolens leaves yields two furanocoumarins, one quinoline alkaloid and four quinolone alkaloids.
The chloroform extracts of the root, stem and leaf shows the isolation of the furanocoumarin chalepensin.
The essential oil of R. graveolens contains two main constituents, undecan-2-one and nonan-2-one.
Symbolism
The bitter taste of its leaves led to rue being associated with the verb :wikt:rue|rue "to regret".Rue is well known for its symbolic meaning of regret and it has sometimes been called "herb-of-grace" in literary works. It is one of the flowers distributed by the mad Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet :
It was planted by the gardener in Richard II to mark the spot where the Queen wept upon hearing news of Richard's capture :
It is also given by the rusticated Perdita to her disguised royal father-in-law on the occasion of a sheep-shearing :
It is used by Michael in Milton's Paradise Lost to give Adam clear sight :
Rue is used by Gulliver in "Gulliver's Travels" when he returns to England after living among the "Houyhnhnms". Gulliver can no longer stand the smell of the English Yahoos, so he stuffs rue or tobacco in his nose to block out the smell. "I was at last bold enough to walk the street in his company, but kept my nose well with rue, or sometimes with tobacco".
Rue is mentioned in the Bible, Luke 11.42: "But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs".
In mythology, the basilisk, whose breath could cause plants to wilt and stones to crack, had no effect on rue. Weasels who were bitten by the basilisk would retreat and eat rue in order to recover and return to fight.
Rue is considered a national herb of Lithuania and it is the most frequently referenced herb in Lithuanian folk songs, as an attribute of young girls, associated with virginity and maidenhood. It was common in traditional Lithuanian weddings for only virgins to wear a rue at their wedding, a symbol to show their purity. Likewise, rue is prominent in Ukrainian folklore, songs and culture.
In the Ukrainian folk song "Oi poli ruta, ruta", the girl regrets losing her virginity, reproaching the lover for "breaking the green hazel tree". "Una Matica de Ruda" is a traditional Sephardic wedding song.
"Chervona Ruta" is a song, written by Volodymyr Ivasyuk, a popular Ukrainian poet and composer. Pop singer Sofia Rotaru performed the song in 1971.