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Pontefract Castle
Medieval herb garden blog 41: Field scabious
Wednesday, October 15, 2025Week 41 volunteer update
A damp and dreary start to the week. Autumn has finally arrived. The ground was too wet to walk on. So, Carole cut back some of the plants she could easily reach, without squashing the air out of the wet soil. These included the Russian tarragon, winter savory and liquorice.
Carole then did the flower count - 57 varieties are still in flower.
She then swept up the fallen leaves from under the lavender, again, from the top of the dry-stone wall and from the drive. There were only five trugs-full of leaves today.
The Medieval Herb Garden on a damp and grey day
Plant of the week: Field scabious (knautia arvensis)
The generic name 'Knautia' is derived from a Saxon botanist of the 1600s, Dr. Knaut. 'Arvensis' is Latin for 'in the fields'.
The name 'scabious' is supposed to be connected with the word 'scab' (a scaly sore), a word derived from the Latin 'scabies'. It is also known as gypsy rose, ladies' pincushion, Egyptian rose, bachelor's buttons, blue caps, clodweed and scabridge.
Field scabious is native to the UK. It is a deciduous, upright, clump-forming, perennial plant. It prefers to grow in full sunlight in any well-drained, alkaline or neutral, non-clay soil. It likes any aspect but north-facing.
It can grow up to 4 ft high with a spread of up to 2 ft.
Its roots are dark in colour and somewhat woody. and “take such a firm hold on the ground that they are only eradicated with difficulty”.
Field scabious in flower in the Medieval Herb Garden
Field scabious has a leaf rosette at its base. From this grow soft, bristly stems. It has dull green leaves which grow in pairs on the stem. The leaves are hairy. They can look different on different plants, or even on different parts of the same plant.
The lowest leaves are stalked and very simple in character. These are about 5 inches long and 1 inch broad, lance-shaped, with their edges cut into large teeth.
The upper leaves are stalkless, and cut almost to the mid-rib. These form four or five pairs of narrow lobes, with a terminal big lobe.
The plant flowers between July and September. The flower heads are convex (curved) in outline. The flowers' inner florets are regularly cut into four segments, the outer flowers being larger than the inner.
The flowers are generally lilac-blue and up to 1 inch in diameter.
Culinary uses of field scabious
The young, pre-flowering leaves can be eaten fresh in salads.
Folklore and other facts about field scabious
In some regions, field scabious represents love, purity, and peace.
In Belgium, a young girl with lots of suitors would pick scabious when in bud. She would give each bud the name of one of her favourites, and choose her husband by the one that flowered best.
Carrying a sprig of field scabious was thought to bring good luck. It was particularly linked to ensuring a successful harvest.
Field scabious is the food source of bees, butterflies and hoverflies. It is also eaten by caterpillars of the marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) and the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth (Hemaris tityus).
Medieval medicinal uses of field scabious*
Field scabious was used in treating skin conditions, including scabies, sores, ulcers, and wounds. It was also used for dandruff, freckles and other skin blemishes. Field scabious was used to treat coughs, throat infections and other lung-related issues.
A decoction (concentrated liquor) of the herb was sometimes used for its supposed diuretic properties. It was also used treat to pleurisy.
*As always, this isn't to be considered medical advice today. Please don't use any plants mentioned in these blogs as medicine without advice from a doctor.
Medieval herb garden blogs
Browse all blogs by our dedicated team of volunteer gardeners at Pontefract Castle. Discover each 'Plant of the Week' as chosen throughout 2025.