Throatwort Beauty

Some flowers have the strangest names. Take throatwort for example. Throatwort? What kind of name is that? My sentiments exactly, I mean why on earth would anyone name such a pretty flower that? It seems throatwort is not alone in the pretty flower-ugly name game. When I think of spiderwort, skunk cabbage and goosefoot, I have to wonder what’s behind the naming of a flower?

I've been using throatwort for many years in my floral designs, but realized I knew very little about it. It’s a pretty flower, looks a little like broccoli, but only a few people in the wholesale industry know much about it, and it's not very popular in arrangements... so I figured it was a perfect example of neglected beauty.


It took some digging to find the story of this oddly named plant. And if I learned anything, it’s that botany is a strange and mystical world when it comes to plant naming and meanings.


Throatwort, or Trachelium caeruleum (Latin), was discovered centuries ago, possibly in Braga, Portugal, where it colonized and covered the town’s mortared walls. Like many plants, throatwort was believed to have healing properties, in particular with sore throats. In Latin it is: Trachelium (genus), which comes from a Greek word “trachilos”, or neck. Caeruleum, (species), translates to the color which is often a mixture of blue.


As for its more common Anglo name-- throatwart-- again the word “throat” is for the area it supposedly heals, and "wort", an old word of either English or German origin, also spelled "wyrt", which means "plant root."


To divine the meaning of throatwort, I went back to where Florigraphy (literally, “ the language of flowers”) was at its peak in popularity. While the study of Floriography has roots in 17th century Persia and Turkey, it was during the Victorian era (1837-1901) that the study of flowers truly bloomed. England’s love affair with flowers was evident in fashion, gardening and culture, thanks to reigning Queen Victoria, a raging flower fanatic. The flower craze would spread across Europe; a Frenchwoman named Louise Cortambert, writing under the pen name, Madame Charlotte de la Tour, wrote the beautiful “Le Langage des Fleurs” in 1819 which detailed flower meanings and offered advice to those wishing to send clandestine messages, using the secret language of flowers.


But here’s the thing, I don’t speak French, so I didn’t find it. Back to the books for me. How frustrating it was reading about roses and daisies and lilies when my beautiful throatwort was staring right at me on my computer screen without any meaning. I perused every Victorian flower site and textbook I could find. I must have gone through 10 different sites before I got warm. After stumbling upon one website called The Forgotten Language of Flowers I reluctantly scrolled down to the T’s thinking I was done with this plant. Well, what do you know? There it was towards the bottom of the page: Throatwort, meaning: “neglected beauty”.

How perfect is that?!




Throatwort Facts:

Latin Name- Trachelium

Family-Campanulaceae

Origin-Portugal

Care- This is a very thirsty flower that will wilt quickly if left out of water.

Description- Clustered panicles of tiny flowers in purple, mauve, pink, creamy-white and green (new color).

Availability- Usually available year-round, with a peak period between April and October.