Rue

Rue

taxobox
name = Rue


image_caption = Fringed Rue
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Sapindales
familia = Rutaceae
genus = "Ruta"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = Between 8-40 species, including: "Ruta angustifolia" - Egyptian Rue "Ruta chalepensis" - Fringed Rue "Ruta corsica" - Corsican Rue "Ruta graveolens" - Common Rue "Ruta montana" - Mountain Rue|

Rue ("Ruta") is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs 20-60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macronesia and southwest Asia. Different authors accept between 8-40 species in the genus. The most well-known species is the Common Rue.

The leaves are bipinnate or tripinnate, with a feathery appearance, and green to strongly glaucous blue-green in colour. The flowers are yellow, with 4-5 petals, about 1 cm diameter, and borne in cymes. The fruit is a 4-5 lobed capsule, containing numerous seeds.

It was used extensively in Middle Eastern cuisine in olden days, as well as in many ancient Roman recipes (according to Apicius), but because it is very bitter, it is usually not suitable for most modern tastes. However, it is still used in certain parts of the world, particularly in northern Africa.

Medicinal uses

According to "The Oxford Book of Health Foods", extracts from rue have been used to treat eyestrain, sore eyes, and as an insect repellent. Rue has been used internally as an antispasmodic, as a treatment for menstrual problems, as an abortifacient, and as a sedative.Vaughan, John Griffith & Judd, Patricia Ann, Judd, "The Oxford Book of Health Food", page 137, 2003. [http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&sig=jyXko0OXVkIJI8bw95j3SaAMV0k&id=mMl9vwVDxigC&ots=xEccjmk4qw#PPA137,M1 available online] ISBN 0198504594]

Precautions

Caution should be taken with using rue topically. When applied to the skin with sun exposure, the oil and leaves can cause blistering. Rue oil can cause severe stomach pain, vomiting and convulsions and may be fatal.cite journal
author=Eickhorst K, DeLeo V, Csaposs J
title=Rue the herb: Ruta graveolens--associated phytophototoxicity
journal=Dermatitis
volume=18
issue=1
pages=52–5
year=2007
pmid=17303046
doi=10.2310/6620.2007.06033
]

Literary references

Rue is mentioned in the Bible, Luke 11.42: "But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs".

It has also sometimes been called "herb-of-grace" in literary works. It is one of the flowers distributed by the mad Ophelia in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (IV.5):

:"There's fennel for you, and columbines::there's rue for you; and here's some for me::we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays::O you must wear your rue with a difference..."

It was also planted by the gardener in Shakespeare's "Richard II" to mark the spot where the Queen wept upon hearing news of Richard's capture (III.4.104-105):

:"Here did she fall a tear, here in this place:I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace."

In a song named Her Ghost in the Fog by the black metal band, Cradle of Filth on their Midian album.:"An inquisitive glance, like the shadows, they cast:On my Love picking rue by the light of the Moon."

Rue is considered a national herb of Lithuania and it is the most frequently referred herb in Lithuanian folk songs, as an attribute of young girls, associated with virginity and maidenhood.

In mythology, the basilisk, whose breath could cause plants to wilt and stones to crack, had no effect on rue. Weasels who were bitten by the basilisk would retreat and eat rue in order to recover and return to fight.

ongs associated with rue

Chervona Ruta (Червона Рута) "Red Rue" - A song, written by Volodymyr Ivasyuk - a popular Ukrainian poet and composer.

Sofia Rotaru, famous Pop-singer, sang the superhit Chervona Ruta in 1971. After her performance, a number of musical bands, film (Chervona Ruta), organisations and companies were named on the territory of the former USSR. The name of the song comes from an old Ukrainian legend Chervona Ruta. the song Chervona Ruta (literally "red rue") became part of Ukrainian and Russian pop culture recently with rap arrangements.

The progressive metal band Symphony X named a song "Absinthe and Rue" on their first album, Symphony X, and Kathleen Battle, American soprano, has recorded the song cycle "Honey and Rue" written by composer Andre Previn in collaboration with the Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison.

Many traditional English folk songs use rue to symbolise regret. Often it is paired with thyme: thyme used to symbolise virginity, and rue the regret supposed to follow its loss.

ee also

* Harmal ("Peganum harmala"), an unrelated plant also known as "Syrian rue"

References


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  • rue — rue …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • rué — rué …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • rue — 1. (rue) s. f. 1°   Chemin bordé de maisons ou de murailles dans une ville, dans un bourg, etc. Rue Saint Honoré. Rue Notre Dame des Victoires. •   Envoyer des soldats à chaque coin des rues, CORN. Héracl. III, 4. •   Pour traverser la rue au… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Rue du Bœuf — Façades de la rue du Bœuf Situation Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rue — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Rue …   Wikipedia Español

  • Rue — ist das französische Wort für Straße Der Name Rue bezeichnet verschiedene geographische Objekte: die Gemeinde Rue FR im Glânebezirk, Kanton Freiburg, Schweiz die Gemeinde Rue (Somme) im Département Somme, Frankreich den Kanton Rue im Département… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rue — Rue, n. [F. rue, L. ruta, akin to Gr. ?; cf. AS. r?de.] 1. (Bot.) A perennial suffrutescent plant ({Ruta graveolens}), having a strong, heavy odor and a bitter taste; herb of grace. It is used in medicine. [1913 Webster] Then purged with euphrasy …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Rue 89 — is a French website created by former journalists from Libération . It was officially launched on 6 May, 2007, on the day of the second round of the French presidential election. Its news editor is Pascal Riché, former Op ed editor of Libération …   Wikipedia

  • Rüe — (s. ⇨ Hund und ⇨ Rüde). 1. As de Rü e1 wässet, wässet ock de Klüppel. (Grafschaft Mark.) – Woeste, 75, 258. 1) Rüë, Ruië, mittelhochdeutsch rüde, ursprünglich der Hetzhund, steht bei uns ohne Unterschied für jeden Hund, kommt aber nur in den… …   Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon

  • Rue — Rue, v. i. 1. To have compassion. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] God so wisly [i. e., truly] on my soul rue. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Which stirred men s hearts to rue upon them. Ridley. [1913 Webster] 2. To feel sorrow and regret; to repent. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rue — ‘regret’ [OE] and rue the plant [14] are distinct words. The former goes back to a prehistoric Germanic source, of uncertain ultimate origins, which meant ‘distress’, and which also produced German reuen and Dutch rouwen. In the early Middle… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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