Evening Primrose, c/s

Oenothera bienni

Origin: USA
Form: Cut and Sifted
Unit size: 1 ounce
Other names:  German rampion
Esoteric Uses: Friendship, love, inner beauty
Esoteric Associations: Moon, Water
Incense Aroma: Burned herb aroma, not great as an incense

All parts of evening primrose are edible. Native Americans in Utah and Nevada ate the seeds. The young leaves can be used raw in salads or as a potherb. They are usually cooked in several changes of water to get rid of their bitterness. English settlers in America took the seeds back to the British Isles as early as 1614, and in the decades following, evening primrose was grown in both English and German gardens for its nut-flavored roots, which were boiled like parsnips. The plant returned to North America in the mid-nineteenth century as a vegetable called German rampion for its similarity to rampion (Campanula rapunculus), a bellflower with edible roots and basal leaves. The seeds have also been used as a substitute for poppy seeds, which they resemble.

Native Americans also used evening primrose for a variety of medicinal purposes. The Ojibwa poulticed the whole plant on bruises. The Cherokee drank a tea made from the root to take off weight. The Forest Potawatomi considered the seeds a valuable medicine, but records documenting its use have been lost. European settlers began using the plant as medicine in the eighteenth century. The Shakers used the leaves or roots externally to promote healing of wounds and a tea of the leaf and root to settle an upset stomach.  One of the best-known uses of evening primrose oil among today’s consumers of herbal medicine is in mitigating discomfort associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

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