Tansy

Tanacetum vulgare

NL: Boerenwormkruid / F: Tanaisie commune

Tansy can already be seen growing with full power all over the fields where we go walk with our dogs, as well as in our own garden. This is one of my favorites! 

Although is not an edible, it is a great plant to have in the garden. It protects other plants from attacks of parasites and undesirable insects while it attracts beneficial insects, such as bees.  It can be dried and stored for further use as “remedy” in the garden. For that purpose, a strong decoction of the entire plant is made, drained and used to spray plants. It also helps to concentrate potassium in the soil, so it is a superb herb to have next to composting piles. 

For its repellent properties, it is a nice plant to have near the kitchen. The dried plant can also be used in sachets to protect the house against flies and it even protects clothes from being eaten by different insects. 

It can also be used to protect dogs from fleas and ticks. Use a strong decoction massaged on their fur after washing them. 

Traditionally this plant used to be prescribed as a good anthelmintic (against worms), hence its Dutch name “boerenwormkruid” (literally= the farm’s herb for worms). Some herbalists still prescribe this plant to treat migraines, painful menstruation, fevers, rheumatism, meteorism (when gas is stuck in the intestines and needs to get out). 

Before the invention of pesticides, tansy was widely used to repel flies. For that it had its oil distilled and then diluted in alcohol, alone or together with other plant oils such as fleabane and pennyroyal. 

It was also used as a food spice wish pulses dishes, such as lentils, in order to prevent gas formation, helping digestion. 

A strong decoction of the plant can be used in the bathwater as tonic and to help treat skin infections. 

Its toxicity is mostly attributed to a substance called thujone, which can be found in varied amounts in different plants, at different stages of its growth. Before using it internally you better get informed about safety on dosage or use a herb that has had its thujone content safely measured. 

Many organic farmers have started to plant this precious plant in their gardens, in order to offer protection to other cultivated plants. 

The video below will help you to identify tansy:

Identifying Common Tansy

Click in the link below for a nice and extensive article on tansy:

Tansy - Tanacetum vulgare - Common Sense Homesteading