Motherwort’s Latin name is Leonurus Cardiaca, meaning Lion-hearted. Vigorous and beautiful, this herb (wort) is traditionally used to support those born in a female body, those who mother (hence its common name), and is a primary plant for heart health. The medicine this plant carries shows us that mothering is intimately related to strength-of-heart.
Brought over by colonists, Motherwort is a settler on North American lands. Being adaptable and self-sustaining means this plant is naturalized, offering her medicine for those who are in need. For other settlers like myself, there is a deep lesson to be learned from this, in how to become useful and live in reciprocity with others and the lands we were planted on.
Wonderful for grief, this herb calms and nourishes the heart, bringing relief for the anxiety and fatigue that often accompanies mothering. She is a tonic for supporting hormonal fluxes from puberty through menopause. She gently calms and nourishes us through and out of burnout.[1] Tincture is easiest, but it can also be taken in teas, although bitter. This medicine is an especially profound metaphor for the support needed at this time of the climate crisis - eco-grief, anxiety and burnout are valid reactions to the unprecedented transitions and heat we are collectively facing. Not to mention that the movement for climate justice – an overwhelming task of care-taking - is being led by women over 50.[2]
The bitter taste and the prickles on late harvest flowers make me think about the pain and discomfort that can accompany both mothering and being mothered. At the same time, bitterness and prickles can act as protection, teaching us about discernment and clear boundaries[1] , and how we can improve these qualities as we age. Clear, healthy boundaries create space for deeper reciprocity and interconnection with what most nourishes us. Knowing our limits, and learning resilience within them, is necessary for living well together.
Motherwort takes up space, grows wild in alleys and fence-side as much as in proper garden beds. Being rhizomatic means this plant’s roots grow down and outward in a non-linear, decentralized and widespread fashion. It is an example of how lineages of mothering can and do work in our world. This kind of matrilineage teaches us about growing power with, instead of over, each other.
Due both to her tenacity and a general ignorance about bioregional plant medicine, Motherwort is often only considered an invasive weed. Likewise, the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual load carried by mothers is widely devalued and overlooked. This is especially true for non-white mothers, who face higher rates of maternal death and whose lives and those of their children are seen as less important.
As well as growing wild throughout Montreal, self-seeded Motherwort grows in the corner of my mother’s own garden, growing tall as my son by summer’s end. Becoming a later-in-life mother was a wake-up call for me. Until then I had not fully recognized the profound work women around me were doing on the daily - my sisters, cousins, friends, my mother, aunties, grandmothers.
Together, Motherwort and I are shining light onto the gift of mothering and the mothers who surround us, especially those whose lives are in danger, including the Earth herself. Equally, we uphold the ways of the heart and heart-led leadership. Leonurus Cardiaca, Lion-heart is courageous and brave. We are speaking out about how stigma, trauma, repression, and oppression take up residence in the body, manifesting as physical ailments or disease. And finally, we are reminding everyone that humans and plants have a relationship that has co-evolved over thousands of years: indeed, plants are the original medicine.
[1] Herbal Academy. “Example Monograph: Motherwort.” Accessed November 15, 2024. https://theherbalacademy.com/motherwort-monograph/
[2] Solitaire Townsend. Women Over 50 Are Leading On Climate Action. Nov 14, 2024. Forbes. (Website). https://www.forbes.com/sites/solitairetownsend/2024/11/14/women-leading-on-climate-action-who-are-over-50-years-old/#.