Artemisia, Artemisia Herb, Artemisia Vulgaris Herb, Herbs

Artemisia is also known as wormwood, mugwort, sagebrush, sagewort Felon Herb, St. John's Plant, Chrysanthemum Weed.

History

Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200-400 species belonging to the daisy family. It comprises hardy herbs and shrubs known for their volatile oils, usually in dry or semi-dry habitats.

It is the native of Temperate Europe and Asia and northern Africa. It is also present in North America where it is an invasive weed. It is a very common plant growing on nitrogenous soils, like weedy and uncultivated areas, such as waste places and roadsides.

English "mugwort" contains an element mu- meaning "fly, bug"; cf. Greek myia [µ??a], Russian mukha [????] and German Mücke "mosquito

Plant Description

It is a tall perenial herbaceous plant, frequently rising 3 feet or more in height with the purplish hue stem and woody root. It has a strong, rather resinous or "floral" taste similar to chrysanthemum leaves.

The fern-like leaves are 5-20 cm long and of many species are covered with white hairs. The leaves are smooth and of a dark green tint on the upper surface, they are once or twice pinnately lobed, the segments being lance shaped and pointed. It is in flower from July to September.

The flowers are in small oval heads; around 5mm long are radially symmetrical with many petals. The narrow and numerous capitula (flower heads) spread out in racemose panicles. They are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and are either reddish or pale yellow.

Cultivation

Mugwort abounds on hedge banks and waysides in most parts of England. They are pollinated by Wind. The plant prefers well drained light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plants are easily grown in acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can tolerate a pH in the range 4.8 to 8.2. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

It inhibits the growth of nearby plants by means of root secretions. Seed - surface sow from late winter to early summer in a greenhouse and do not allow the compost to dry out. Harvest the young shoots when about 10 - 15cm long, pot up in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse or cold frame and plant them out when well rooted.

Parts Used

The parts used are the leaves and the root. The leaves collected in August and dried and the root dug in autumn and dried. The roots are cleansed in cold water and then freed from rootlets. Drying is not complete until the roots are dry to the core and brittle, snapping when bent.

Mugwort root is generally about 8 inches long, woody, beset with numerous thin and tough rootlets, 2 to 4 inches long, and about 1/12 inch thick. It is light brown externally; internally whitish, with an angular wood and thick bark, showing five or six resin cells. The taste is sweetish and acrid.

The aromatic leaves of many species of Artemisia are medicinal, and some are used for flavouring. Most species have an extremely bitter taste.

Main Constituents

It contains many essential oils like terpenes and terpene derivatives, e.g., 1,8 cineol, camphor, linalool, thujone, 4-terpineole, borneol, a-cardinol and further mono- and sesquiterpenes. Quantitative and qualitative composition varies strongly with soil, climate, fertilizing, and harvest time. It also has high content of alcohol.

Thujone, the etheral oil, one of the oil's main constituents, is a monoterpenoid ketone, (approx 50 ppm)is also present in the plant which is toxic in nature. Pregnant women, in particular, should avoid consuming large amounts of mugwort.

Uses

Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) was used to repel fleas and moths.
It is also used in flavouring beer.
A. dracunculus (Tarragon) is widely used as a herb, particularly important in French cuisine.
It has stimulant and slightly tonic properties, and is of value as a nervine and emmenagogue, having also diuretic and diaphoretic action.
Mugwort has a long history of use in herbal medicine especially in matters connected to the digestive system, menstrual complaints and the treatment of worms.
All parts of the plant are anthelmintic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestive, emmenagogue, expectorant, nervine, purgative, stimulant, slightly tonic and used in the treatment of women's complaints
Arteminisin (from chinese wormwood) is the active ingredient in the anti-malarial combination therapy, 'Coartem' produced by Novartis and the WHO.
Mugwort is valued in palsy, fits, epileptic and similar affections, being an old-fashioned popular remedy for epilepsy.
In Germany, it was mainly used to season goose, especially the roast goose traditionally eaten for Christmas.
Mugwort is also used in Korea and Japan to give festive rice cakes a greenish colour.
The root of the plant was used for medicinal purposes. Mugwort was used from ancient times as a remedy against fatigue and to protect travellers against evil spirits and wild animals. Chewing some leaves will kill the fatigue and stimulate the nervous system.
Mugwort has an aromatic smell. Poor people used mugwort, sometimes mixed with other herbs, as a substitute for tobacco.
They are also used to give colour and flavour to glutinous-rice dumplings
It is not used in potpourri but one can place it in pillow to have the subtle fragrance.
A few species are grown as ornamental plants.
The species is little used now due to toxicity concerns, but has a number of recorded historic uses, both as a herb and in herbal medicine.

Herb : Artemisia