The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Rue
RUE.
Rūta gravèolens.—Rue, Fr.—Rante, Ger.
Is a hardy shrub, and a native of the south of Europe. It is propagated in a similar manner to the Rosemary, and requires the same cultivation. The common Rue has a strong, ungrateful odor, and a bitter, hot, penetrating taste. The leaves are so acrid as to irritate and inflame the skin if they are much handled. Rue was much used by the ancients, who ascribed to it many excellent qualities. It is employed by some as a tea, and also externally, in various kinds of fomentations. A conserve, made by beating the fresh leaves with thrice their weight of sugar, is the most commodious form for using the herb in substance. It is a powerful astringent, and adapted to phlegmatic habits, or weak and hysterical constitutions suffering from retarded or obstructive secretions.