Yarrow

Properties

diaphoretic, tonic, stimulant and mild aromatic, anti-inflammatory, choleretic

Effects

The leaves encourage clotting, so it can be used fresh for nosebleeds.

The aerial parts of the plant are used to bring down fevers as they are an effective sweating remedy, to treat phlegm conditions, high blood pressure and gastrointestinal disorders, as a bitter digestive tonic to encourage bile flow and as a diuretic. They are a tonic for the blood, stimulate the circulation and can be to treat for high blood pressure. As it is also useful in menstrual disorders, it is often referred to as women’s herb.

The dark blue essential oil, extracted by steam distillation of the flowers, is generally used as an anti-inflammatory or in chest rubs for colds and influenza.

Food

Yarrow has also been used as a food and was very popular as a vegetable in the 17th century. Yarrow leaves are sweet with a slight bitter taste. The younger leaves are said to be a pleasant leaf vegetable when cooked like spinach, or in a soup. The leaves can also be dried and used as a herb in cooking.

Drinks

In the Middle Ages, yarrow was part of a herbal mixture known as gruit used in the flavouring of beer prior to the use of hops. The flowers and leaves are used in making some liquors and bitters.

The genus was named after the Greek mythological character Achilles. According to the Iliad, Achilles’ soldiers used yarrow to treat their wounds, hence some of its common names such as allheal and bloodwort. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in stanching the flow of blood from wounds.

The English name yarrow comes from the Saxon (Old English) word gearwe, which is related to both the Dutch word gerw and the Old High German word garawa.

The Hungarian name, cickafark, means cat tail, named after its leaf shape and texture. The shape inspired people in New Mexico and southern Colorado to call it plumajillo (Spanish for ‘little feather’).

Allheal, arrowroot, bad man’s plaything, bloodwort, cammock, carpenter’s weed, carpenter’s grass, death flower, devil’s nettle, dog daisy, eerie, field hops, gearwe, green arrow, green adder’s mouth, hundred leaved grass, knight’s milefoil, knyghten, milefolium, milfoil, millefoil, noble yarrow, nosebleed, old man’s mustard, old man’s pepper, sanguinary, seven year’s love, snake’s grass, soldier, soldier’s woundwort, stanchweed, sneezeweed, thousand seal, thousand-leaf, woundwort, yarroway, yerw.

The plant also has a long history as a powerful ‘healing herb’ used topically for wounds, cuts and abrasions. The genus name Achillea is derived from mythical Greek character, Achilles, who reportedly carried it with his army to treat battle wounds. This medicinal action is also reflected in some of the common names, such as staunchweed and soldier’s woundwort.

Classical Greece

Homer tells of the centaur Chiron, who conveyed herbal secrets to his human pupils, and taught Achilles to use yarrow on the battle grounds of Troy.

Why Achilles heel? Well, his mother was afraid to let go of him completely when she dipped him into the river Styx for immortality, so he had a weak spot where, of course, he received his fatal wound.

British folklore

In the Hebrides a leaf held against the eyes was believed to give second sight.

Chinese divination and proverbs

The stalks are dried and used as a randomising agent in I Ching divination.

Chinese proverbs claim yarrow brightens the eyes and promotes intelligence. Yarrow and tortoiseshell are considered to be lucky in Chinese tradition.

In birds’ nests
Several cavity-nesting birds, including the common starling, use yarrow to line their nests. Experiments conducted on the tree swallow, which does not use yarrow, suggest that adding yarrow to nests inhibits the growth of parasites.

Against mosquito larvae
Its essential oil kills the larvae of the mosquito Aedes albopictus

Companion planting
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is considered an especially useful companion plant, repelling some pest insect while attracting good, predatory ones. It attracts predatory wasps, which drink the nectar and then use insect pests as food for their larvae. Similarly, it attracts ladybirds and hoverflies.

Cultivation
Achillea millefolium is cultivated as an ornamental plant by many plant nurseries. It is planted in gardens and natural landscaping settings of diverse climates and styles, including native plant, drought-tolerant, and wildlife gardens. The plant is a frequent component of butterfly gardens. The plant prefers well-drained soil in full sun, but can be grown in less ideal conditions.

Achillea millefolium can be planted to combat soil erosion due to the plant’s resistance to drought. Before the arrival of monocultures of ryegrass, both grass leys and permanent pasture always contained A. millefolium at a rate of about 0.3 kg/ha. At least one of the reasons for its inclusion in grass mixtures was its deep roots, with leaves rich in minerals. Thus its inclusion helped to prevent mineral deficiencies in the ruminants to which it was fed.

It was introduced into New Zealand, where it is now very prevalent, as a drought-tolerant pasture.

Yarrow grows from sea level to 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) in elevation. The plant commonly flowers from May through June. Common yarrow is frequently found in the mildly disturbed soil of grasslands and open forests. Active growth occurs in the spring.

The genus is native primarily to Europe, temperate areas of Asia, and North America.

Achillea /ækɨˈliːə/ is a group of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.

Achillea millefolium is an erect herbaceous perennial plant that produces one to several stems 0.2–1 metre (0.66–3.28 ft) in height, and has a spreading rhizomatous growth form. Leaves are evenly distributed along the stem, with the leaves near the middle and bottom of the stem being the largest. The leaves have varying degrees of hairiness (pubescence). The leaves are 5–20 cm long, bipinnate or tripinnate, almost feathery, and arranged spirally on the stems. The leaves are cauline, and more or less clasping.

The inflorescence has 4 to 9 phyllaries and contains ray and disk flowers which are white to pink. The generally 3 to 8 ray flowers are ovate to round. Disk flowers range from 15 to 40. The inflorescence is produced in a flat-topped capitulum cluster and the inflorescences are visited by many insects, featuring a generalised pollination system. The fruits are small achenes.

The plant has a strong, sweet scent, similar to chrysanthemums.

• Achillea millefolium millefolium
  • m.subsp. m. var. millefolium – Europe, Asia
  • m.subsp. m. var. borealis – Arctic regions
  • m.subsp. m. var. rubra – Southern Appalachians
• millefoliumsubsp. chitralensis – western Himalaya
• millefoliumsubsp. sudetica – Alps, Carpathians
• Achillea millefolium alpicola — Western United States, Alaska
• Achillea millefolium californica — California, Pacific Northwest
• Achillea millefolium occidentalis — North America
• Achillea millefolium pacifica — west coast of North America, Alaska
• Achillea millefolium puberula — endemic to California

Isovaleric acid, salicylic acid, asparagin, sterols, flavonoids, bitters, tannins and coumarins.