Just Rue It

Rue is a handsome garden herb with bluish-green leaves and cross-shaped yellow flowers. Its other name is herb of grace, and it has often been used for religious purposes such as the sprinkling of holy water.

In many places, the fumes of burning rue are considered purifying. The belief is alive, for instance, in present-day Uzbekistan, where you may see people burning rue at the entrances to Tashkent’s subway system.

The leaves contain oil of rue, an aromatic liquid with a sharp, fresh aroma rather like plums. (Some people don’t like it, though, and it should be noted that it’s used in a number of dog and cat repellents.) Because of its fruity aroma, medieval Middle Eastern stew recipes often called for adding rue at the end, much as we might throw on some parsley or cilantro.

But rue is also proverbially bitter, due to compounds that the plant uses to repel insects and fungi (aha--so there is something to the belief that it’s a purifier). Eating too much rue may cause flushed skin, irritation of the lungs, vomiting and collapse in sensitive people. Merely handling the plant may cause skin irritation and extreme sensitivity to sunlight.

Rue also contains chemicals reputed to relax the smooth muscles, meaning that it might trigger premature labor. In fact, from the Middle Ages on, rue was a traditional abortifacient, and there were a number of dose-related deaths from eating it. So take it a little easy with this herb or you’ll, um, rue it.