THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Seaweed

Lisa Karen Miller

          Seaweed is a generic term for a plethora of species of edible ocean algae. It grows around the world, though the most interesting lore attached to it originated in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the southern coast of England.

          In fishing villages, women and children made good use of their time while the menfolk were out hauling in their nets. They scoured the shore for seaweed, winkles, and other free edibles to be found among rocks and tidal pools.

          Seaweed is extremely nutritious, containing vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, and other nutrients.  I tasted some while on a walking tour of Ireland – it was like a soggy potato chip. A nutrient-packed stew can be made from seaweed and fish or shellfish.

          Dulse has been eaten in Wales and Scotland since at least 941, when its use was first recorded. It can be eaten raw or boiled and topped with butter. It was used to improve vision and relieve colic. A poultice applied to the temple treated migraine.

          Carrageen was used to thicken stews and set jellies. It is the source of carrageenan, widely used in the food industry today for the same purposes.

          Laver, which clings to rocks, has been eaten in Wales since at least the 17^th century.  It is very high in iron and iodine. Laverbread is made by washing and then boiling it until it attains a puree-like consistency.  It is then rolled in oatmeal and fried. It appears on shore only during winter months, so it was welcome indeed when few other vegetables were available.

Seaweed should never be collected on Sunday or any other holy day.  The spring tide closest to St. Brigid’s Day (February 1^st) was a popular day to harvest.  Some villages made a festival out of it.

          Seaweed has long been used as a kind of home barometer, as it is unusually sensitive to humidity in the air.  It remains stiff and dry on a fair day, but will become wet long before rain can be seen on the horizon.

          In Devon and Cornwall, England, a seaweed known as Ladies’ Trees was kept on the mantelpiece to protect the house from fire.  Its association with water made it a natural opponent of flames. A person who drowned was buried on the “black shore,” between the line of seaweed and the shore.

          Until recently, seaweed was the last unadulterated foodstuff on earth.  Now that we are poisoning the oceans as well as the land with pesticides, that is no longer true.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller