Like most plants appreciated the world over for their medicinal qualities, Solomon's Seal has a mysterious backstory. Maude Grieve, the early 20th century author of the classic, A Modern Herbal writes that the plant is "a native of Northern Europe and Siberia and in England it is found, though rarely, growing wild in woods in York, Kent and Devon."
Grieve quotes several sources in an attempt to demystify the name of the eponymous herb: "it comes from 'the flat, round scars on the rootstocks, resembling the impressions of a seal and called Solomon's, because his seal occurs in Oriental tales.' Another ponders whether its "round depressions, or the characters which appear when the root is cut transversely, and which somewhat resemble Hebrew characters, gave rise to the notion that Solomon 'who knew the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots,' has set his seal upon them in testimony of its value to man as a medicinal root". Grieve also references the 16th century reknowned herbalist, John Gerard, who maintained that the name "Sigillum Solomons" was given to the root partly because "it bears marks something like the stamp of a seal, but still more because of the virtue the root hath in sealing and healing up green wounds, broken bones and such like, being stamp't and laid thereon.'
The association with King Solomon is not only in the plant's English name. It's also found in Mordkhe Schaechter's Plant Names in Yiddish as שלמה–המלכס זי׳גל or Shlome (or Shloyme) HaMelechs Zigl or SolomonThe King's Seal.
As I've often written, it's difficult to find substantial references to plant knowledge in the former Pale of Settlement. One source concerned with Medieval history connects King Solomon with keeping a person safe, noting that the six-pointed star symbol and a five pointed symbolic star were both referred to as the Seal of King Solomon and that each of these symbols were employed as amulets to safeguard against illness and evil spirits.
By the 18th century, the well-travelled, academically trained physician, Tobias HaKohen includes this important healing plant in the materia medica section of his master work, Ma'aseh Tuvia. His plant index names Polygonatum multiflorum (the Linnean name for Solomon's Seal) in three languages:
פולוגינאטון. מוהור סאלאמוני, שרש
The first word, פולוגינאטון or Polygonatun (Polygonatum) is the Greek term (and later Linnean genus name for the plant).
The second part of the entry, מוהור סאלאמוני - or Mohur Solomoni - is the ancient Turkish term for the same plant.
And finally, like the majority of plants in his index, HaKohen identifies the medicinal portion of the plant, in this case שרש, or sharsh, which is the Hebrew word for root.
The root (in today's botanical terminology, this underground horizontally growing part of the plant is now termed its rhizome) is still considered the medicinal part of Polygonatum multiflorum and is much beloved by contemporary herbalists. In The Modern Herbal Dispensatory, Thomas Easley describes Solomon's Seal as helpful "for adjusting tension on ligaments and tendons. Both topically and taken internally, it is an excellent anti-inflammatory, a specific for healing and repairing any connective tissues and is the most reliable remedy for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the herbal materia medica."
A simple formula of Solomon's Seal tincture combined with the same amount of St. John's Wort oil in a spray bottle, can be applied topically to help reduce the swelling in a sprained knee or elbow and will support healing of the joint's connective tissues.
