Let’s talk abour Fire. Although a natural and vital part of the Mediterranean biome and its different ecosystems, shaping plant life, clearing old growth, and helping certain seeds to germinate, we have been particularly preoccupied with fire this year in Provence.
In the presence of repeated extreme heatwaves, the combined factors of high temperatures, low humidity, drought and tinder-dry vegetation have provided the optimal conditions of wildfire spread. Any column of smoke on the horizon or slightest whiff off smoke immediately attracts attention. When the wind blows, tensions rise and the risk of fire is omnipresent in our thoughts and conversations.
This summer, our mountain massifs have been closed to all access, summer BBQ’s banned along with any activity that could possible lead to the ignition of a careless spark. Wilful and malicious arson attacks have also risen, putting lives, lands and livelihoods at risk and the extreme distress and drama of wildfires occuring country-wide has been streamed constantly via the media, creating a constant state of anxiety.
As a mountain community surrounded by pine forests, we have also been reminded of our collective reponsibility – tending our own properties, ensuring that, in the event of a fire, we are best positioned to protect our homes and family and that of our neighbours. Because when fire arrives, it doesn’t discriminate and remain within property lines. Felling trees and brushwood clearance is a community obligation in our region and sanctions exist for those who fail to observe clear guidance.
Along with this enhanced awareness, I have been reflecting on a source of herbal fire: that of Mountain Savory, Satureja montana and its message of Containment.
This is the time of year that I hike to a favourite spot to harvest a couple of baskets of this wonderful plant. I choose to go towards the end of its late blooming period, once the bees have taken their own fill of its nectar and pollen.
Mountain Savory grows close to the stones in rugged places where the sun is relentless, rain is a rare and precious commodity and other plants struggle to survive. With its small, narrow leaves and compact, cushion-like habit, one might easily overlook its fiery nature. But if you brush against or crush savory underfoot, it immediately announces its fragrance – powerful, pungent, and very hot. A single leaf placed on your tongue makes it burn and tingle and your eyes may well water.
Savory’s specific epithet, montana is straightforward enough. It means “of the mountains”, and exposed, rocky limestone screes are where I go to find this fiery plant. The genus name, Satureja, is more mysterious. The Latin name Satureia is ancient and was already used for savory by classical writers. A much-repeated later tradition links the name to the satyrs of classical mythology. However, the true etymology is uncertain. However, the association of Savory with satyrs has persisted over generations, perhaps helped by its longstanding reputation as a stimulating and aphrodisiac herb.
In French, Savory is known as “sarriette” and in the Provençale language it is known “lou pèbre d’ai”, or donkey pepper – thought to refer to its energising nature when put into the nosebags of tired working mules and donkeys at the end of a long day of toil.
Savory, to me, embodies vitality, sensuality, impulsiveness and the distinct yang quality of a lust for life that can readily tip into a state of excess. Satyrs were creatures of abundant but not necessarily contained energy. Savory too, needs careful Containment in order to benefit positively from what it offers.
I harvest Savory for its culinary uses – a replacement for oregano that is less common in our region. It is perfect for meat stews, tomato sauces, beans, lentils and chickpea dishes where the herb not only flavours but also facilitates digestion. It is also used to preserve sheep and goat cheeses that are renowned in our region.
Occasionally, I also distil small quantities, primarily for its hydrolat that contains the phenols carvacrol and thymol, perfect for infected wounds, sore throats, mouth rinses and similar uses. When I do decide to distil Savory, I always choose my glass alembic because when the essential oil starts to arrive in the glass condenser, it does so in a stunning flame-red flash, signalling its hot phenolic nature. I like to think that this is Savory’s way of announcing its arrival, saying “there is fire here”.
So how is savory linked to Containment? The word might seem negative or restrictive, bringing to mind imprisonment, confinement or suppression of expression. But that is not the kind of Containment I see in Satureja.
Fire is beneficial and useful when contained with purpose. When contained within clear boundaries and purposefully tended, we can draw near to it, benefit from its heat, use it to cook over and bask in its light as we gather around it. Fire can save lives. In these situations, we are harnessing the power of fire for positive purpose. This is what I mean by Containment.
Outside its appropriate boundary, those very same flames can quickly become destructive and rage out of control, destroying everything in their path. Sometimes fire ignites through accident or circumstance, sometimes through malicious intent. Whatever the origin, one needs to act quickly and decisively and usually, a collective effort is required if fire is to be successfully contained. There is no time to waste.
Once mastered, and the fire is contained, the burned landscape then remains under vigilance for an extended period as post-burn fires are common. Colloquially given the term of “zombie” fires, holdover or subsurface fires, these reignite after a period of apparent dormancy. Smouldering below the surface unseen, these can be particularly dangerous as they often reappear once our attention is diverted elsewhere.
Satureja montana essential oil also needs Containment in order for us to truly master all that it has to offer. Long before we distilled savory into essential oil, people had already learned to contain its herbal fire in simpler ways. A single pinch of the herb flavours a large cooking pot of stew, a simple gargle with its tea at the first signs of a sore throat helps ward off infection, a few leaves cooked with lentils brings digestive relief and a spoonful of delicious Savory honey provides a most welcome tonic in convalescence.
Savory’s medicinal history reaches back centuries. For example, Satureia appears among the plants represented in connection with the 1618 Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, where the leaves were considered medicinal. Mediterranean ethnobotanical traditions record Satureja montana particularly for digestive, respiratory and urinary complaints, as well as its reputation as a stimulating herb. And now, today, modern phytochemistry allows us to consider its power through analysis and research.
Savory usually yields an essential oil rich in the phenolic monoterpenoids carvacrol and thymol and these are accompanied by their precursor compounds such as p-cymene and gamma-terpinene that are involved in the phenols’ pathways of biosynthesis. Phenols are rarely timid. They are what I call the “Rambo” components of essential oil composition. They are invariably hot, fiery, irritant, caustic and stimulant and their safe and appropriate use requires mastery and respect in terms of indication, dose and duration of use.
When contained in this way, carvacrol and thymol contribute substantially to the powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant properties associated with this essential oil. When not contained, however, collateral damage can result because potency can come with consequences. The same chemistry that makes this essential oil interesting therapeutically can quickly lead to harm. Used carelessly, at excessive concentration, by inappropriate routes or on unsuitable tissues, phenol-rich oils can irritate and become cytotoxic.
Everything is in the dose, as the 16th Century Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus said “Sola dosis facit venenum”, it is the dose that makes the poison. If you contain the dose, you reap benefit without harm.
Like many members of the Lamiaceae family, Satureja montana possesses specialised glandular trichomes. Microscopic studies have identified peltate and capitate glandular trichomes on Savory’s leaves, stems and floral structures. These secretory structures are associated with the production and accumulation of volatile compounds – Savory’s tiny pockets of fire contained and compartmentalised so as not to harm its own tissues. Self-restraint is, after all another part of the message of Containment.
So Savory knows how to contain its own fire – and when we harvest and distil the plant, that responsibility is then transferred to us – the users of Savory essential oil. Dose, duration, frequency, route of administration, clinical purpose, indication, contraindication, the vulnerability of the person receiving it – these become our boundaries that help us use savory safely and effectively. Our Containment converts Savory’s danger into therapeutic potential, providing the appropriate place, concentration, direction and purpose.
When a wildfire develops in a dry landscape, one of the crucial objectives of the firefighting teams is Containment. A contained fire is not necessarily an extinguished fire. It may still be burning, but boundaries have been established around its spread. The fire has been given limits and the area that has been burned remains under continued vigilance to ensure that Containment persists.
As I walk in Nature at the end of another hot summer, the insights gained through Savory’s message of fire and Containment might also be applied in the context of another fragile, diverse ecosystem: the professional aromatherapy community.
Does fire have a place in our aromatic community? Absolutely. Fire, when contained, brings positive change and renewal and contributes constructively to our ecosystem. It burns away dross, permits fresh new growth and revises old untended paths. It shows us our strengths and weaknesses and reminds us of our responsibilities. We grow together through the experience of fire.
Past experiences have also shown us the dangers of an uncontained fire – for example, those that arise when flames ride swiftly and unchecked over our established firebreaks – our codes of ethics and professional conduct – that are put in place to keep our profession safe.
Keep in mind that what might start simply as a spark can quickly spread when fanned by the winds of social media, gaining ground in untended places and actively encouraged by the tangled undergrowth of misinformation, half truths and personal agendas – all providing the very fuel upon which to burn.
As a result, we also have watched smoke rise over landscapes we love. We have seen friends and colleagues affected, fragile professional ecosystems and reputations permanently harmed. We live with the consequences of not fully containing the fire when those flames first appeared.
We might also be led to reflect on our responsibility as a community as mastery of a wildfire does not fall on the shoulders of one or two firefighters. It requires advance preparedness followed by swift, collective, collaborative and decisive action for Containment with ongoing, heightened vigilance to ensure that there is no chance of future re-ignition.
And then will comes the time of tending the land to ensure positive new growth, repair and healing.
