We’re all familiar with the Shakespearean witches calling out to the powers of Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog.  We hear people talk about using Devil’s Shoestring to create luck in their lives and I’ve used Slippery Elm in the mouth of a poppet to stop someone from gossiping about me (and it worked beautifully).  Some of the names that we know a plant by are what we call their “common name” and they all have their Latin or botanical name but the folk names are often what we see in literature like Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”.  Often these are the names that draw us in to the magick of herbs.

The names come from a variety of places.  Some names come names come from the look or smell of a plant.  Other names are developed based on the uses of an herb.  Another way that some of these folk names come about is thought to be connected to the spirit of the plant.  Many people who work closely with herbs and plants will take the time to connect to the spirit of the plant itself and develop a relationship with it and this can often result in new names and associations for a plant.

Did you know that there are a number of plants that have “eye” in the folk name, not just Eye of Newt?  It’s thought that this name for these herbs comes from the somewhat darker center in the herb’s flower that looks like the iris of an eye.  Eye of Newt is actually a type of mustard seed plant where the center of the flower sticks out a little and could be said to look a little like an eye.

Regardless of how a plant comes into its folk name, they are fun and sometimes interesting, especially when you do some research into the plants themselves and discover their attributes that my have contributed to their names.  Below is a short list but a larger list can be found here.  What do you think of some of the old folk names?  Do you like using them?  Are there some that you feel make sense and others that you can’t figure out?  Are there any names that you’ve given to plants you work with based on your own experiences?