Scurvy Grass
Nicola Morgan
We wondered as to its name:
The rockery-type flower
With fleshy leaves
Carpeting the coastal headland.
Some sort of allysum?
A reference book gives an answer:
‘Cochlearia Officialis’,
Common Scurvy Grass.
Scurvy Grass!
Surely there is a name more befitting
This delicate flower,
With its clusters of white,
And dark spoon-shaped leaves?
The fact is –
Its name reflects
The purpose it served:
To ward off scurvy in days of old.
A member of the
Brassicacea family
– rich in Vitamin C –
Scurvy Grass was
Taken on board ships
In dried bundles
For the long months at sea.
In its distilled form
It was a popular tipple
– Scurvy Grass ale –
Its medicinal properties
Alluded to in the designation
‘Officialis’:
A venerable epithet
To signify its ancient
Pharmaceutical value.
Ah – little white flower
With such medicinal secrets,
Now forgotten to our sophisticated world.
What other healing properties
– unbeknown –
Are being lost in the wisdom of today.
Rectory Ramblings 