THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Hens and Chicks

Lisa Karen Miller

“Et ille hortulanus habeat super domum suam Iovis barbum.”

(“And the gardener shall have house-leeks growing on his house.”)

Charlemagne, first Holy Roman Emperor

          Hens and Chicks, or the houseleek, has a long history as a useful and attractive house and garden plant.This popular succulent consists of rosettes which send out lateral stems with babies attached, hence its popular name. The babies can either be left attached to form a dense colony, or seperated and planted elsewhere to become new mothers. Once the central rosette blooms, it dies.    

          In the 9^th century, the emperor Charlemagne decreed that every house in the Roman Empire should have them planted on the roof to absorb lightning, prevent fires, and repel witchcraft. In his dictum above, he uses another of the plant’s common names: Jove’s (or Jupiter’s) Beard.

 This belief in the electricity-absorbing power of Sempervivum (live forever) tectorum (of house roofs) is common in several cultures.  I was surprised to learn from a Chinese student that many people in China keep Hens and Chicks in pots next to their electronic equipment – a sort of natural surge protector.

People in several cultures had long grown plants on roofs to help insulate the house.  The alpine native hens and chicks, in addition to offering this feature, was less flammable than, say, grasses. 

Another of its common names is Thor’s Beard, as it was also sacred to the Norse god Thor.  He was the god of storms and lightning, so this plant was reputed to repel his thunderbolts.

But does sempervivum truly possess this power?

          It is thought that the coronal form of the plant disperses electricity through its many points, thereby weakening the charge. This, along with its water-filled, fleshy leaves (which can keep it alive unplanted for weeks) may offer some lightning protection.

I wouldn’t want to count on it, though.

There is a company in Germany that exports rolled up carpets of the plants to cover roofs with, much like we buy sod for a lawn.

          The fleshy leaves can be added to salads, made into a tea to soothe sore throats, or put into baths to nourish the skin. Much like aloe vera, the leaves contain a soothing mucilage for burns and stings.

          Its symbolic meanings include domestic economy and industry, liveliness, vivacity, and “welcome home husband.”  In fact, one of its more colorful nicknames is Welcome-Home-Husband-Though-Never-So-Drunk. If worn fresh as a buttonhole or hair adornment, and replaced every third day, it is meant to attract love.

          When it’s time to bloom, flower stalks seem to appear almost overnight.

          Like a bolt from the blue.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller