Ruta Graveolens is the herb known in English as rue, Garden Rue, Herbygrass, Herb-of-Grace. It's been used for more than two thousand years. This Cooper guy wouldn't have 'discovered' it, he just would have read about it in Turner's 'Herbal' of 1562. Hippocrates recommended it, and according to Mrs Grieve in 'A Modern Herbal' it was a chief ingredient of the famous antidote to poison used by Mithridates. It was introduced to Britain by the Romans and grows wild in parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. In Chiapas we know it as ruta, and the women use it widely, especially with babies, I think against colic. It's supposed to be useful against flatulence as well. The leaves can be quite refreshing to chew, we have a plant here in the garden in BC and I often nibble a bit.
But its origin was in Southern Europe, and it's grown around the world, it's not a plant specific to Amazonia. Several of the listings on aznt's website sound familiar, for instance 'Canela' is just Spanish for cinnamon. Also U¤a de Gato is common and widely used in Chiapas, and I think it grows at least as far north as Veracruz.
I doubt that a person with knowledge of the cultivation and uses of herbs wrote the website. |
