PlantFiles: Common Rue, Garden Rue, Herb of Grace, Herbygrass
Ruta graveolens

I put rue in a small pot on my fence last season (hung it on
my fence so my kitty wouldn't eat any). In no time I had 5
Giant Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars on it. Then, in less
than a week, they all got eaten by the birds! Well, at least
I know the plant is a definite BF favorite. And it has survived
the winter (currently with 5" of snow on it). I'll keep it around
for sure.

I love the foliage on this plant I planted five of them and lost two but plan on planting a lot more for next year. I have Giant Swallowtail caterpillars on it now so late in the season they won’t make it they are black with little gold dots on them I think they are that cat. Hopefully I’ll get more cats next year! Does this plant spread from underground runners? I have another plant coming up from the bottom of another plant :) May have been an extra seedling I didn’t know about but it is really smaller than the main plant like it just came up.

Rue, Ruta graveolens is a Naturalized plant in Texas.

After several years of trying to grow Rue from seed,
I was determined more than ever, so I dumped an
entire package of seed in a hole, marked it and
walked away.

My plant is now several years old, and I just love it!

The color, the foliage, the little yellow flowers, and
of course, the butterfly factor. I will be planting more Rue
this year, this time with freshly harvested seeds from
my own plant.

A good one indeed!

Out of all the beautiful things about this plant, it's most significant functions is to provide food for Black Swallowtails and Giant Swallowtail caterpillars.
It seems to be very hardy here in zone 8a. Already a few freezing days and it really looks great!

Right about now, our rue (rutaceae family) hedge is heavily populated with burgeoning black swallowtail caterpillars. We love the butterfly and find this stage of its caterpillar in our rue hedge one of the wonders of the summer. From the gusto with which these fast-fattening guys are chomping on the rue, you'd think the rue was kith or kin with these caterpillars' other favorites in the apiaceae (was umbelliferae) family (dill, fennel). Perhaps these caterpillars know something the taxonomists don't know?

My mom grows a lot of rue every year. We use it to make a traditional dessert sweet mung bean soup (we're Chinese) and it tastes great. Rue clears intestinal worms and is a safe pesticide for humans and animals.

My information says that Rue is hardy in zones 4-11, and indeed, it survives here in zone 5. It even self-seeds a little. I like the look of it; the foliage is attractive all season long. Light aids germination.

I was concerned about this plant after reading the comments here. I wrote to the nursery where I bought it and this is their response . . .

"Yes, it is edible. Rue is a traditional flavouring used in Greece and other Mediterranean countries

It is true that rue can cause skin rashes on some individuals. The rashes occur when a sensitive person's skin comes in contact with fresh rue foliage and that area of skin then is exposed to sunlight. The ultraviolet portion of natural sunlight triggers the skin reaction by potentitizing the rue compounds. If these same sensitive persons are exposed to fresh rue and not to UV light then the rash does not occur.

I have never heard of anyone suffering adverse reactions to rue's use in foods. When used sparingly as a flavouring the risk of skin rashes is apparently quite low. Rue's long history of use in food in europe and north africa would seem unlikely if it were poisonous to ingest.

As always, when introducing a new herb or spice to the diet it is good idea to test a small amount first. Stop using any herb or spice that causes any adverse reaction including allergic ones."

(I ate the leaves in a salad last night last night ... and I am still here!)

Marlene

I have found some crushed rue covered by a bandage on skin cysts or large blemishes tends to heal them very quickly. A skin cyst can disappear practically overnight. I have never had an adverse reaction. The smell is not heavenly! It does add a nice touch to my herb garden. I have it near orange mint, thyme, oregano and Lemonbalm. They all get along fine.

Here it is a "luck" plant. People use it to bring luck to their houses, either planting a cutting on their years, or just putting a branch in water. I find its odor somewhat unpleasant, and because I don't believe that a vegetable brings me good or bad luck, I just avoid it.

Loved your website. Told me what I needed to know about my rue, which I have had for 10 years, and weeded, and traded at the plant exchange. Well this year it "got" me. Too much close contact, wearing skimpy top, on a sunny day. Woke up with photodermatitis (looks a lot like poison ivy) which so far only hurts in one spot. I think I'll remove the two offending plants (they were too close to the walkway anyway) but not remove all of them. The grey-green foliage is so pretty. It doesn't seem to bother my hands and lower arms but boy, really got my upper arms and back.
Aside from that--just love the color and featheriness of the leaves. They do spread in my sandy loam garden but pull out easily when small (wear gloves!!)

I have very positive feelings about this plant's attractiveness and usefulness, but I also am typing this right now with several large blisters on my right arm from handling this plant. It's easy to grow from seed, easy to maintain, evergreen, and makes a nice small hedge to go with roses, herbs, or other plants that will benefit from a neat blue-green edging. This is the second time I've had a chemical reaction to this plant, and both times were when the weather was hot and sunny and I was perspiring. The plant is also attractive to the caterpillars of certain butterflies, but I can't warn strongly enough about using care when siting the plant and handling it.

one of this plants best qualities is its power to keep dogs out of the garden when used as a border plant, in certain cases it even keeps the cats away.I had a costomer who had a small garden on a busy street the dogs always peed on her plants so whe tried ruta and the dogs would go by like soldiers and pee just next door!i also had an experience with photodermatitis but i found that the plant will cause this when wet because i never had thet proplem before its only one day when it was raining and i cleaned a big batch i had second degree burns on the top of my hands! DO NOT TOUCH WHEN WET !!!8)

This plant looks really great in my garden. I really like the shape of the leaves and that it is evergreen like. I do not find it as invasive as other plants but it does spread out quite a bit. This brings me to why I gave this plant a neutral instead of a positive. I decided to thin out this plant 2 days ago... well I woke up yesterday to very red blotchy hands and wrists which didn't itch but sort of felt like I had a sunburn. Hummm what caused this I wondered. Well, last night this "rash" developed into lots of painful blisters (you could actually watch them develop) and today I am still covered in blisters. Honestly, I am not 100% sure that this plant has caused my condition since I have thinned this plant before with no problems but I know that I will be wearing gloves next year. :-)

Plant self-seeds somewhat, but not enough to be considered invasive; just enough to share with friends.

The phrase "You'll RUE the day..." comes from this plant, as touching it produces a dermatitis in many people. Mine produces lovely yellow flowers, and otherwise is just a nice blue-hued nice foliage plant in the bed.

Evergreen shrub from Southern Europe.

Has blue-green, pinnatisect, ovate, scented leaves. Bears yellow, 4 petalled, cup shaped flowers.

Flowers June-August

Likes fertile, well drained soil in sun or partial shaded positions. Has lived in dappled shade on clay here for several years quite happily.

Leaves may cause photodermatitis if touched, be especially careful if you have a sensetive skin and with children playing near the shrub. Can cause severe discomfort if eaten.

Rue has a long history in Europe, it was used to sprinkle holy water before high mass, which is where it earned a common name of Herb of Grace.

It was used as a strewing herb, anti-plague herb and as an insecticide/pesticide. Also once believed to be a witchcraft and an anti-witchcraft plant.

It has been used in medicine in the past and still has some uses today but should only be used under STRICT medical supervision. Never use when pregnant!

Homeopaths use a tincture of Rue in the treatment of arthritis, rheumatism and neuralgia. Herbalists might prescribe it for blood pressure problems, nervous problems, sciatica and epilepsy, they may use Rue in compresses for skin ulcers. It also has antiseptic properties.

It was once used as an eye bath and as an antidote to some poisons, insect stings and snake bites.

Its' roots yield a red dye.

It does have a culinary use if used sparingly but it is incredibly bitter and my note above about severe discomfort on ingestion is possible, its not a herb that suits everyone and there are better culinary herbs out there to use.

A curious note, Rue and mint don't grow well together, Rue is often the plant to come off worse from the pairing.