Wormwood

Parts Usually Used

Leaves, flowering tops

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Wormwood’s woody rootstock produces many bushy stems, which grow from 2-4 feet high and bear alternate, bi- or tri-pinnate leaves with long, obtuse lobes. Numerous tiny, yellow-green, rayless flower heads grow in leafy panicles from July to October. The stem of wormwood is branched, and firm, almost woody at the base. The stem is covered with fine silky hairs, as are the leaves.

The leaves themselves are 3 inches long by one broad, thrice pinnate with linear, blunt segments. They are grayish-green and have a distinct odor. Wormwood is not heat tolerant. Zones 4-10. There are other varieties of wormwood. ) otherwise known as Sweet Annie, is a bushy plant 1-9 feet tall; used in the treatment of malaria. Related to A. absinthium, it is not poisonous but may cause dermatitis.

A. heterophylla; Paiute name is “Kose-wiup,” At Owyhee, Nevada, a basket was used to steep these wormwood leaves, and put them next to a baby’s skin to reduce fever. ” Packets of steamed plants were placed on limbs for rheumatism, and a sweat bath given. Another wormwood, (A. gnaphalodes), Paiute and Shoshone gave the same names as to A. heterophylla. They made a tea called “Ba wa zip,” (young people’s tea).

Smoky Valley Tea and steam bath was for young girls approaching maturity.

Where Found

Found in waste places and along roadsides from Newfoundland to Hudson Bay and south to Montana. Wormwood is a native plant in Europe, from where it was introduced into North America.

Medicinal Properties

Anthelmintic (kills intestinal worms), antiseptic, antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, cholagogue (stimulates flow of bile), febrifuge (reduces fever) , narcotic, stimulant, stomachic, tonic

Biochemical Information

Absinthol which is common to all worm-woods, in addition to other essential oils including pinene, cineol borneol phenol cuminic aldehyde, artemisia ketone.

Legends, Myths and Stories

This is the bitterest of herbs. Wormwood’s name is obviously derived from its medicinal property of expelling intestinal worms for which it has been well known since ancient times. An Egyptian papyrus dated 1,600 years before Christ describes this bitter herb. Legend has it that this plant first sprang up on the impressions marking the serpent’s tail as he slithered his way out of Eden.

According to folk beliefs, wormwood was reputed to deprive a man of his courage, but a salve made from it was supposed to be effective in driving away goblins who came at night. Wormwood is a principal ingredient in the dangerous alcoholic drink absinthe, which has been made illegal all over the world because it deteriorates the nervous system, causing attacks similar to epileptic seizures.

Absinthe is a bitter, aromatic, alcoholic drink that was very popular in Italy, France, and Switzerland during the 19th century. Because of the addictive nature of wormwood and the frequent side effects when absinthe was used to excess (dizziness, seizures, stupor, delirium, hallucinations, and even death) it has now been banned in nearly every country of the world. Wormwood planted as a border, it keeps animals from the garden.

It got its generic name from Artemis, the Greek name for Diana, because she discovered the plant’s virtues and gave them to mankind. Another story has it that it is named for Artemisia, Queen of Caria, who gave her name to the plant after she had benefited from its treatments. Wherever its name came from, it is one of the bitterest herbs known. Its common name comes from its ability to act as a wormer in children and animals.

It was used in granaries to drive away weevils and insects, and was used as a strewing herb in spring to drive fleas away. It contains large amounts of a toxic substance called absinthin, which will wash off the leaves of the plant and into the ground nearby, inhibiting the growth of closely planted herbs or plants.

Uses

Historically, herbalists primarily regarded wormwood as a digestive remedy, employing it for indigestion, gastric pain, poor appetite, heartburn, flatulence, and jaundice, based on the belief that it stimulated liver and gallbladder secretions. It was also traditionally administered for fevers, anemia, and asthma, and was believed to act as a cardiac stimulant to aid blood circulation.

Practitioners used the powdered flowering tops in attempts to expel intestinal worms and other parasites. Externally, folk traditions made use of wormwood tea fomentations or washes for bruises, sprains, irritations, and itchy rashes. Herbalists applied the oil topically for pains associated with rheumatism, neuralgia, lumbago, and arthritis. A vinegar prepared with boiled wormwood was historically used as a mouth rinse for bad breath arising from dental issues or stomach distress.

Beyond medicinal preparations, dried wormwood and the related mugwort were widely utilized as domestic and commercial moth repellents to protect stored clothing and textiles. Traditional households also used the oil and fresh leaves to deter household pests such as fleas, flies, gnats, and ants.