Black History and Botany

February is Black History Month, a time to honor the contributions and achievements that Black Americans have made to American history. When I was in school, African American History education was focused only on enslavement, civil war, and the civil rights movement. It’s unfortunate because American history is incomplete without Black history. There is so much more to be learned and taught about people, culture, traditions, and family.

I originally wanted to research Wormley Hughes, who was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson. He became the head gardener at Monticello. I wanted to learn more about him as a gardener and how he changed the landscape at Monticello. However, in my search, I came across some other interesting history of early African American’s and their relationship with plants.

Photo courtesy of the Afro-American Historical Association

In the early 1800’s, some enslaved people, in their fight for freedom became what were called “Freedom Seekers”, or runaway slaves. Freedom Seekers had to conquer harsh wilderness and travel for hundreds of miles with little but the clothes on their back. They had to survive, find food, shelter and deal with various ailments, and injuries.

The Hunt Institute has various narratives, memoirs, autobiographies, and histories that were written during the antebellum period that tell the stories of Freedom Seekers and their reliance on plants and flora during this time. Their findings prove that skills and knowledge of plants, flora, and the environment was a major factor in the quest for freedom. Freedom Seekers used plants and herbs to mask their scent from dogs. They used them for medicine, food, and also for energy along the long journey.  

Harriet Tubman, leader in the Underground Railroad movement

In the book, “In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World,” Authors Judith Carney and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff state, “Plantation slaves and fugitive runaways alike depended on ethnobotanical knowledge for nourishment, healing, and their collective survival.”

Freedom seekers brought their knowledge and use of plants as well as medicinal remedies with them to their destinations, which helped spread African American culinary traditions here in the U.S.

There were so many more plants that were critical to the Freedom Fighters survival than what I’ve included below. It was fascinating to read all about the plants and how they were part of this quest for freedom. If you would like to learn more, click the link below to check out the Heinz History Center.

Wild Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis was used for its medicinal and food properties.  It was made into a syrup and used as a sedative in heart palpitations. “Its diuretic property was well known and an account of the alcoholic fermentation from the branches producing a urine cleanse or kidney ailment remedy. Asparagus for coffee and tea was made by roasting the grounded ripe seeds of the plant.” It was used to treat a sore throat and snake bites. The roots were cooked and used for food.

The powdered root of Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa was used as a stimulant used to treat rheumatism, chest ailments, dysentery, catarrh, as well as pneumonia.

Dandelion was used for medicine and food. The leaves were eaten and the roots used to make medicine as well as coffee substitute. Tinctures made from the roots were used to treat jaundice, liver and gall-bladder problems, spleen, kidney, uterine issues, and hepatitis.  

Purslane, Portulaca oleracea was one of the many foods that provided sustenance for Freedom Runners. “It is antiscorbutic, diuretic, and an antidote for poisoning from cantharides”.

Wild Lettuce, Lactuca elongate was helpful for menstruation pain. “Runaways would use wild lettuce to control and delay their menstrual cycles”.  The plant is an anesthetic and also used for urinary tract issues, calming, as well as muscle and joint pain.

The use of plants as medicine has a history in so many cultures, and was critical for the many enslaved as well as the tens of thousands of freedom runners. We can learn so much from this history and I hope that it becomes part of school curriculum.

Until next time…

Dream Big, Plant Love, and Grow Where You’re Planted

XOXO - Laurie