How were spiderworts used by the Aztec?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
December 16, 2002
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Tradescantia, Spiderwort Mix—>Click here.
In the old herbals, plants were classified more by their medicinal uses than actual genetic relationships. Frequently both medicinal use and relationship went hand-in-hand. Plants like the spiderworts were used to treat spider bites and the spiderworts of John Gerard's day (late 1500s) were plants now classified as asphodels. It is odd that John Parkinson, physician to King James I, 'classified' the Virginian spiderwort as a spiderwort since the plant has no apparent affinities with the European plants.
Spiderworts (Tradescantia spp.) appear in Aztec medicine. According to the Classic Codex of 1552, "Into eyes much heated from sickness the ground root of this bush (xal-tomatl or sand tomato) is instilled; let the face be further wiped with the squeezed juice of the bushes oco-xochitl (pine flower, unknown), huacal-xochitl (pannier flower, Xanthosoma roseum), matlal-xochitl (blue flower, a Tradescantia), and tlaco-izqui-xochitl (plant with flower like maize, Brourreria sp.).
"Slightly troubled eyes are helped by the leaves of the mizquitl (mesquite) tree and of the xoxouhqui matlal-xochitl (blue, blue flower), macerated in woman's milk, or dew, or limpid water, and instilled." (Badianus Manuscript, trans. William Gates, 1939, 2000)
Xochitl is generally taken that the flower of the plant was used. Unfortunately, it is unknown what species of Tradescantia the Aztec physicians used. Martín de la Cruz, an Aztec physician, wrote the original Codex of 1552. His advice for slightly troubled eyes emphasized the use of the Tradescantia with the blue, blue flower.
Tim E. Smith with the Missouri Native Plant Society has posted two excellent photographs of Tradescantia, one white and one blue. To view these photographs, click on the link:
http://www.missourinativeplantsociety.org/image/plants?page=4
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~
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Suggested Reading:
Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) Plant of the Week - December 16, 2002
What plant is a natural Geiger-counter? Weird Plants - December 19, 2002
Who was John Tradescant? What's in a Name? - December 13, 2002
Why did Linnaeus name the dayflower, Commelina? What's in a Name? - May 17, 2002
What was spiderwort? What's in a Name? - December 6, 2002
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