The name betony is said to derive from a Celtic word bewton which means "good for the head".

Stinging nettle is mentioned in the Nine Herbs Charm. It has been used in Europe for centuries as food in early spring when other sources of food were scarce, as a nutritive spring tonic and to build the strength and milk production of pregnant and lactating women and livestock and as medicine for various conditions. Hippocrates recorded 61 medicinal uses of the plant in the fourth and fifth centuries BCE.

Nettle was once widely used for its stem fibres which were retted and spun like flax. In Denmark, burial shrouds made of the resulting cloth have been found dating back 5000 years or more. Native Americans used the fibre for making fishing nets and for cordage.

Nettle leaves produce a green dye which was used in war time Europe the make camouflage and is used to this day in Germany to keep canned vegetables looking a healthy green.

The genus Circaea is named after Circe, an enchantress featured in the Odyssey by Homer. Some say this plant was part of the potion she used to turn Odysseus's companions into swine. Since this is a native American plant, I doubt she or Homer ever actually saw it. However, she is not the only Homeric hero associated with this herb. The common name Sorcerer of Paris and Paris Nightshade alludes not to the city in France, but to Paris of Troy from the Illiad.

Enchanter's nightshade is listed as an ingredient in many of the "ancient" herbals and magical compendiums, but berries are often mentioned. Since this plant has sticky burrs, not berries, one can only assume that these texts were referring to a different (probably European native) plant.

In the language of flowers, enchanter's nightshade means witchcraft or sorcery.

The Latin valere from whence the common name of this plant originated means "to be strong or healthy" and it may refer to the healing applications of the plant or it may refer to its strong odor. Indeed the ancient Greeks called this plant "Phu" (like phew!).
It was believed that this plant had the properties of turning anything bad into good.

The origin of the common name "foxglove" is unclear, but the original name may have been folksglove, referring to faerie folk.
The Latin name, digitalis comes from the word "digitanus", meaning finger for the timble shaped flowers that look like you could fit your finger right inside.

Although foxglove is very dangerous if misused, it has a long history of medicinal use for heart and kidney problems, edema and aconite poisoning. Legend says that Van Gogh used it to treat his epilepsy.
An old saying about foxglove goes "It can raise the dead and it can kill the living".

In the 1700s, William Withering learned of this folk remedy from "an old woman in Shropshire" and studied it. This led to Digitalis being a very important plant-derived medicine for heart disease that is still in use to this day.

In Roman mythology, Flora showed Hera how to impregnate herself with no need of a man by touching a foxglove to her belly and her breasts. She either gave birth to Mars or Vulcan from this method, depending on the source.

Scandinavian legend says that the faeries taught foxes to ring foxglove bells to warn each other of approaching hunters.

The word asparagus comes from the Greek and it refers to any young, tender shoot that can be eaten.

Asparagus was prized by the ancient Greeks over 2500 years ago. It was considered to be a cleansingi and healing herb and used it for many medicinal purposes. The Romans in their turn also prized asparagus and cultivated it (the Greeks wildcrafted it) from the and spread it throughout Europe on their conquests. Emperor Augustus coined the term “velocius quam asparagi conquatur” which means to do something quicker than you can cook asparagus. Similar to our phrase “two shakes of a lambs tail”. So much did the Romans prize asparagus, that in the first century, runners took asparagus from the Tiber River valley to the Alps so that it could be frozen and thus preserved for the Feast of Epicurus

King Louis XIV had asparagus grown in his greenhouses so that he could enjoy it year round, he dubbed asparagus the King of Vegetables. It was also popular in England and other parts of Europe and colonists brought it to America where Native Americans used it for medicine.

Asparagus was considered a phallic symbol banned from girls schools in the 19th century, but Victorian women were taught to detect the scent of this aphrodisiac on their husbands- a sure sign that he was behaving improperly!

The name Crataegus oxyacantha comes from the Greek kratos, “hardness”, oxcux, “sharp” and akantha “thorn”.

In Teutonic lore, hawthorn symbolized death and was used in funeral pyres.

In ancient Greece, married couples were crowned with hawthorn blossoms and the wedding party carried torches of hawthorn. The tree was also associated with Cardea, the Roman Goddess of marriage and Childbirth.

During springtime festivals in England, large Hawthorn boughs were cut and stood up in the ground outside houses. They were called May Bushes and decorated with wildflowers. Although it was permissible to decorate outside with hawthorn blossoms, bringing them into the home would surely bring illness and death.

This tree was considered beloved by fairies who lived within. Cuttingi down a Hawthorn tree is very bad luck!

"Had I but a penny in the world, thou shouldst have it for gingerbread"- Shakespear

The word Geranium comes from the Greek geranos meaning "crane".

The Wild Geranium rhizome is rich in tannini and was used by early American settlers to tan hides.