This plant (Sempervivum tectorum) is growing, not in Beatrix Potter's garden, but on her roof! For centuries, the houseleek was respected as a powerful protector against the forces of evil, and particularly against fire and lightning. In Roman mythology, the plant was sacred to Jupiter; in Nordic myth, to Thor. The Emperor Charlemagne ordered it to be planted on the roofs of all his subject's houses to keep them from being struck by lightning. It would grow well on thatched roofs and between the cracks of slate roofs, and was thought not only to protect but to ensure prosperity. (I wish I knew whether Beatrix planted this houseleek on her roof!)

This little plant is also called hen-and-chicks: the "mother hen" plant gives birth to little "chicks," attached to the parent by a sturdy stem. The succulent leaves were crushed and applied as a cold poultice to relieve headaches and migraines, or cut and used to give relief from burns, insect bites, and ringworm, or to remove corns and warts.

©2004 Susan Wittig Albert