Irrwurz or Mad Root: German Folklore
- Sylvia Rose
- Aug 22, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 18
In forests of German mythology, don't step on the Irrwurz! The name of this plant translates as errant, astray or mad root. A state of mindless wandering is brought on by leaves, root, seeds or any part of the plant.
Also called Irrkraut (mad herb, astray herb), it will make a person lose the way, walk in circles or run back and forth with no sense of direction. Irrwurz is known in French folklore as herbe d'égarement (herb of befuddlement).
A person can be affected through touching or picking the Irrwurz, eating, stepping on it or over it. The plant works its magic tendrils into the mind, causing confusion and panic as even familiar places look strange.
Regional differences abound. In some parts of Germany, Irrwurz is identified as a type of fern or plantain. In other areas it's a tree root across the path or a root shaped like a St. Andrew's Cross or X.
In Thuringia, central Germany, a person goes astray only when stepping over Irrkraut without seeing it. In this area the Irrkraut fern is also known as Atterkreutich (asp or adder herb). It befuddles sense of direction and invokes venomous snakes to chase the person.
Seeds or flowers falling into one's shoes can also cause directional confusion. In Switzerland, the plant is called Vexierchrut (vexing herb), resembling a fern. A person goes astray carrying the herb in a pocket.
In Tyrol (n. Italy/w. Austria), stepping on an Irrwurz can send a person to a carcass-collector's yard or into a swamp. In Carinthia, south Austria, when a person steps on the Irrwurz a spirit or goblin disguises the correct path.
In Burgundy, east-central France, one who steps on the plant walks the same route countless times. Seeds of the Paris quadrifolia, the herb-Paris or true lover's knot, can show the true path.
The Irrwurtz tradition is brought to America by German ancestors of the Pennsylvania Dutch, who call it Verirrgraut (going astray herb). If one steps on it in the evening, the person will wander aimlessly until daybreak. The plant is identified with the rattlesnake plantain.
Irrwurz or Irrkraut grow in forested regions of Germany and other parts of Europe, and are often blamed for a person getting lost in the woods. In many regions the plant is identified with the plantain or fleawort (Plantago).
Plantago are common in many parts of Europe and the Americas today. They grow wild in forests, rocky meadows, development sites, and are among the first plants in urban vacant lots.
Prevention and cure for effects of the Irrwurz are similar. Most commonly, a person switches right and left shoes, or wears an article of clothing inside out, for example an apron, or turns one's pockets inside out.
Taking off both shoes and walking barefoot can help ground the wanderer. Walking backwards in one's own footprints might also shake off the curse.
Sometimes the person can be shocked out of the trance-like state induced by the Irrwurz. In other regions such as Tyrol, one is simply out of luck until another unwitting victim steps on the nefarious plant.
Non-Fiction Books:
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