Talk:Tansy

Huh?
In the fourth paragraph, there is a sentence that states, "Death is normally the result of respiratory arrest and organ degeneration." The fact is obvious, but what does it have to do with Tansy?

Gerarde
Who is this "Gerarde"? Could someone find source for his quote, please. I have also found him quoted in "Wild Flowers Worth Knowing" by Neltje Blanchan et al. --Yodakii 04:27, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
 * John Gerard, author of Generall historie of plants (1597), popularly? known as Gerard's Herbal. -- WormRunner 07:18, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

tansy ragwort
How can an ordinary person distinguish between tansy (vulgare -the common herb) and tansy ragwort, which kills cattle?


 * When I was ten years old (in Oregon, back in the late 1960s), a neighbor taught me (and all his friends) that Scotch broom was the same thing as tansy ragwort. As he owned one horse and two cows, I figured he probably knew what he was talking about.  A local county ordinance prohibited growing tansy ragwort (and went so far as to fine people that had large stands of tansy ragwort growing on their property) but at this late date I have the strange feeling that he was pulling the wrong plants out of the pasture.  The things he was pulling out, appeared to have very strong trunks in the shapes of twisted vines, a couple inches thick at the base, and even though you could grab a hold of them, they were very difficult to pull out.  I think that the vines would break, leaving tap roots behind.  (Thanks to Wiki, it appears that what he was pulling out, was probably the common Scotch broom and not the odious tansy ragwort that kills cattle.)


 * For info on "tansy ragwort" and the name confusion, see ragwort Two good characters to distinguish them: Ragwort grows as individual plants which start as a rosette of leaves whereas tansy grows in a patch and spreads by underground stems.  In ragwort, the leaf segments are more rounded (see the illustrations on the two pages). -- WormRunner 16:11, 4 June 2006 (UTC)


 * In the summer of 1972, I had a day job (literally one day) in Oregon cutting down tansy weed for a dairy farmer who told me it made his cows sick (I forget why they were attracted to eating it). It did NOT look like Scotch Broom, but perhaps was a ragwort. OTOH, we do have "cow bitter" as one of Tansy's alternate names in the lead, so isn't it reasonable to have a bovine connection? Any references for it? Martindo (talk) 09:08, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

Tansy: Edible or Poisonous?
Since I was a boy, Tansy's or Tansies are edible, now this Wiki article says Tansy is poisonous!

So, which is correct?

http://montana.plant-life.org/species/tanacet_vulgare.htm

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=379

Supercool Dude 00:43, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Think of it like alcohol - you can eat tansy, and some of its effects can be beneficial, but it is poisonous in very large amounts. Pregnant women, especially, should avoid tansy. Indeterminate 08:10, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Tansy as a Name
I just removed this sentence from the article for two reasons:

(1) The use of weasel words

(2) The name is not in the top 100 female names for UK babies born in 2006.

--Mycroft.Holmes 16:13, 31 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Therefore, I added the dispute tag to complement that request for references added by another user. If no references are added within a week or so or the original person who posted it doesn't improve upon the original statement, then I can see justification for not including it. Cheers! --24.154.173.243 23:28, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

Tansy is also mentioned in a verse for the early version of 'yankee doodle' ""Sheep's head and vinegar, Buttermilk and tansy, Boston is a Yankee town, Sing, "Hey, doodle dandy!" if anyone feels like adding it in OR I SWEAR TO GOD I MIGHT

Cleanup.
I've tried to fix this article as well as I could without access to all of the quoted sources; some parts are still evidently flawed because I haven't been sure enough of what the original writers intended. Areas needing attention from the knowledgeable include: the list of activities ascribed to 1,8-cineole; whether the long list of uses of camphor is appropriate here; Sue Perkins and the tansy toxicity (what a book title that would be!). There is also a degree of duplication in the material of several sections; I was uncertain whether clarity was better served by retaining or eliminating the repeated material. --Kay Dekker (talk) 23:58, 6 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Why no mention of this plant's extremely invasive tendencies? it can crowd out and outcompete native vegetation and forms pure stands. And it also poisons the soil (allelopathy), further outcompeting native plants. It is in many ways a perfect weed: offers a little to pollinators; produces tens of thousands of seeds, per individual; and also spreads via rhizome. It grows well in full sun, poor soil, dry, moist and semi-shaded areas. In other words: anywhere. In the area I in which I live, Northern Minnesota, the plant is steadily colonizing abandoned pastures, ditches, powerline right of ways, and other disturbed and neglected areas. It is considered a noxious weed by the state and is required to be controlled by landowners. There is no enforcement of this rule, however, and it is slowly taking over. It's a tragedy for our natural heritage as native plants will be permanently displaced. 67.3.56.239 (talk) 18:38, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Tansy Formerly Used As Exfoliant
For hundreds of years (although not in modern times) tansy was used as a powerful exfoliant to refine women's complexions. This was also a somewhat dangerous procedure that could result in severe burning. The novel Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter, was first published in 1906. Chapter 18, titled "Wherein Mrs. Comstock Experiments with Rejuvenation..." gives a compelling account of the process:

"...she went outside beside the west fence and gathered an armful of tansy which she boiled to a thick green tea. Then she stirred in oatmeal until it was a stiff paste. She spread a sheet over her bed and began tearing strips of old muslin. She bandaged each hand and arm with the mixture and plastered the soggy, evil-smelling stuff in a thick poultice over her face and neck. She was so tired she went to sleep, and when she awoke she was half-skinned. She bathed her face and hands...By the third morning she was a raw even red, the fourth she had faded to a brilliant pink under the soothing influence of a cream recommended...The following day she was a pale pink, and later a delicate porcelain white." Younggoldchip (talk) 14:39, 20 December 2014 (UTC)