Absinthium (Artemisia absinthium LINN.

Wormwoods

Botanical: N.O. Compositae Wormwood, Common Wormwood, Roman Wormwood, Sea

The Wormwoods are members of the great family of Compositae and belong to the genus
Artemisia, a group consisting of 180 species, of which we have four growing wild in
England, the Common Wormwood, Mugwort, Sea Wormwood and Field Wormwood. In
addition, as garden plants, though not native, Tarragon (A. dracunculus) claims a
place in every herb-garden, and Southernwood (A. abrotanum), an old-fashioned
favourite, is found in many borders, whilst others, such as A. sericea, A. cana and
A. alpina, form pretty rockwork shrubs. The whole family is remarkable for the
extreme bitterness of all parts of the plant: 'as bitter as Wormwood' is a very
Ancient proverb. In some of the Western states of North America there are large
tracts almost entirely destitute of other vegetation than certain kinds of
Artemisia, which cover vast plains. The plants are of no use as forage: and the few
wild animals that feed on them are said to have, when eaten, a bitter taste. The
Artemisias also abound in the arid soil of the Tartarean steppes and in other
similar situations. The genus is named Artemisia from Artemis, the Greek name for
Diana. In an early translation of the Herbarium of Apuleius we find: 'Of these
worts that we name Artemisia, it is said that Diana did find them and delivered
their powers and leechdom to Chiron the Centaur, who first from these Worts set
forth a leechdom, and he named these worts from the name of Diana, Artemis, that is
Artemisias.' [Top] WORMWOOD, COMMON Absinthium (Artemisia absinthium LINN.) Click
on graphic for larger image Botanical: Artemisia absinthium (LINN.) Family: N.O.
Compositae Description Cultivation Parts Used Constituents Medicinal Action and
Uses Preparations ---Synonym---Green Ginger. ---Part Used---Whole Herb.
---Habitat---Europe, Siberia, and United States of America. The Common Wormwood
held a high reputation in medicine among the Ancients. Tusser ( 1577 ), in July's
Husbandry, says: 'While Wormwood hath seed get a handful or twaine To save against
March, to make flea to refraine: Where chamber is sweeped and Wormwood is strowne,
What saver is better (if physick be true) For places infected than Wormwood and
Rue? It is a comfort for hart and the braine And therefore to have it it is not in
vaine.' Besides being strewn in chambers as Tusser recommended, it used to be laid
amongstuffs and furs to keep away moths and insects. According to the Ancients,
Wormwood counteracted the effects of poisoning by hemlock, toadstools and the
biting of the seadragon. The plant was of some importance among the Mexicans, who
celebrated their great festival of the Goddess of Salt by a ceremonial dance of
women, who wore on their heads garlands of Wormwood. With the exception of Rue,
Wormwood is the bitterest herb known, but it is very wholesome and used to be in
much request by brewers for use instead of hops. The leaves resist putrefaction,
and have been on that account a principal ingredient in antiseptic fomentations. An
Old Love Charm 'On St. Luke's Day, take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram,
thyme, and a little Wormwood; dry them before a fire, rub them to powder; then sift
it through a fine piece of lawn, and simmer it over a slow fire, adding a small
quantity of virgin honey, and vinegar. Anoint yourself with this when you go to
bed, saying the following lines three times, and you will dream of your partner
"that is to be": "St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me, In dreams let me my true-love
see." ' Culpepper, writing of the three Wormwoods most in use, the Common Wormwood,
Sea Wormwood and Roman Wormwood, tells us: 'Each kind has its particular virtues' .
. . the Common Wormwood is 'the strongest,' the Sea Wormwood, 'the second in
bitterness,' whereas the Roman Wormwood, 'to be found in botanic gardens' - the
first two being wild - 'joins a great deal of aromatic flavour with but little
bitterness.' The Common Wormwood grows on roadsides and waste places, and is found
over the greater part of Europe and Siberia, having been formerly much cultivated
for its qualities. In Britain, it appears to be truly indigenous near the sea and
locally in many other parts of England and Scotland, from Forfar southwards. In
Ireland it is a doubtful native. It has become naturalized in the United States.
[Top] [Top of Wormwood, Common] ---Description---The root is perennial, and from it
arise branched, firm, leafy stems, sometimes almost woody at the base. The
flowering stem is 2 to 2 1/2 feet high and whitish, being closely covered with fine
silky hairs. The leaves, which are also whitish on both sides from the same reason,
are about 3 inches long by 1 1/2 broad, cut into deeply and repeatedly (about three
times pinnatifid), the segments being narrow (linear) and blunt. The leaf-stalks
are slightly winged at the margin. The small, nearly globular flowerheads are
arranged in an erect, leafy panicle, the leaves on the flower-stalks being reduced
to three, or even one linear segment, and the little flowers themselves being
pendulous and of a greenish-yellow tint. They bloom from July to October. The ripe
fruits are not crowned by a tuft of hairs, or pappus, as in the majority of the
Compositae family. The leaves and flowers are very bitter, with a characteristic
odour, resembling that of thujone. The root has a warm and aromatic taste.
---Cultivation---Wormwood likes a shady situation, and is easily propagated by
division of roots in the autumn, by cuttings, or by seeds sown in the autumn soon
after they are ripe. No further care is needed than to keep free from weeds. Plant
about 2 feet apart each way. [Top] [Top of Wormwood, Common] ---Parts Used---The
whole herb - leaves and tops - gathered in July and August, when the plant is in
flower and dried. Collect only on a dry day, after the sun has dried off the dew.
Cut off the upper green portion and reject the lower parts of the stems, together
with any discoloured or insect-eaten leaves. Tie loosely in bunches of uniform size
and length, about six stalks to a bunch, and spread out in shape of a fan, so that
the air can get to all parts. Hang over strings, in the open, on a fine, sunny,
warm day, but in half-shade, otherwise the leaves will become tindery; the drying
must not be done in full sunlight, or the aromatic properties will be partly lost.
Aromatic herbs should be dried at a temperature of about 70 degrees. If no sun is
available, the bunches may be hung over strings in a covered shed, or disused
greenhouse, or in a sunny warm attic, provided there is ample ventilation, so that
the moist heated air may escape. The room may also be heated with a coke or
anthracite stove, care being taken that the window is kept open during the day. If
after some days the leaves are crisp and the stalks still damp, hang the bunches
over a stove, when the stalks will quickly finish drying. Uniformity in size in the
bunches is important, as it facilitates packing. When the drying process is
completed, pack away at once in airtight boxes, as otherwise the herbs will absorb
about 12 per cent moisture from the air. If sold to the wholesale druggists in
powdered form, rub through a sieve as soon as thoroughly dry, before the bunches
have had time to absorb any moisture, and pack in tins or bottles at once.
---Constituents---The chief constituent is a volatile oil, of which the herb yields
in distillation from 0.5 to 1.0 per cent. It is usually dark green, or sometimes
blue in colour, and has a strong odour and bitter, acrid taste. The oil contains
thujone (absinthol or tenacetone), thujyl alcohol (both free and combined with
acetic, isovalerianic, succine and malic acids), cadinene, phellandrene and pinene.
The herb also contains the bitter glucoside absinthin, absinthic acid, together
with tannin, resin, starch, nitrate of potash and other salts. ---Medicinal Action
and Uses---Tonic, stomachic, febrifuge, anthelmintic. A nervine tonic, particularly
helpful against the falling sickness and for flatulence. It is a good remedy for
enfeebled digestion and debility. [Top] [Top of Wormwood, Common]
---Preparations---Fluid extract, 1/2 to 1 drachm. Wormwood Tea, made from 1 OZ. of
the herb, infused for 10 to 12 minutes in 1 pint of boiling water, and taken in
wineglassful doses, will relieve melancholia and help to dispel the yellow hue of
jaundice from the skin, as well as being a good stomachic, and with the addition of
fixed alkaline salt, produced from the burnt plant, is a powerful diuretic in some
dropsical cases. The ashes yield a purer alkaline salt than most other vegetables,
except Beanstalks and Broom. The juice of the larger leaves which grow from the
root before the stalk appears has been used as a remedy for jaundice and dropsy,
but it is intensely nauseous. A light infusion of the tops of the plant, used
fresh, is excellent for all disorders of the stomach, creating an appetite,
promoting digestion and preventing sickness after meals, but it is said to produce
the contrary effect if made too strong. The flowers, dried and powdered, are most
effectual as a vermifuge, and used to be considered excellent in agues. The
essential oil of the herb is used as a worm-expeller, the spirituous extract being
preferable to that distilled in water. The leaves give out nearly the whole of
their smell and taste both to spirit and water, but the cold water infusions are
the least offensive. The intensely bitter, tonic and stimulant qualities have
caused Wormwood not only to be an ingredient in medicinal preparations, but also to
be used in various liqueurs, of which absinthe is the chief, the basis of absinthe
being absinthol, extracted from Wormwood. Wormwood, as employed in making this
liqueur, bears also the name 'Wermuth' - preserver of the mind - from its medicinal
virtues as a nervine and mental restorative. If not taken habitually, it soothes
spinal irritability and gives tone to persons
of a highly nervous temperament. Suitable allowances of the diluted liqueur will
promote salutary perspiration and may be given as a vermifuge. Inferior absinthe is
generally adulterated with copper, which produces the characteristic green colour.
The drug, absinthium, is rarely employed, but it might be of value in nervous
diseases such as neurasthenia, as it stimulates the cerebral hemispheres, and is a
direct stimulant of the cortex cerebri. When taken to excess it produces giddiness
and attacks of epileptiform convulsions. Absinthium occurs in the British
Pharmacopoeia in the form of extract, infusion and tincture, and is directed to be
extracted also from A. maritima, the Sea Wormwood, which possesses the same virtues
in a less degree, and is often more used as a stomachic than the Common Wormwood.
Commercially this often goes under the name of Roman Wormwood, though that name
really belongs to A. Pontica. All three species were used, as in Culpepper's time.
Dr. John Hill ( 1772 ) recommends Common Wormwood in many forms. He says: 'The
Leaves have been commonly used, but the flowery tops are the right part. These,
made into a light infusion, strengthen digestion, correct acidities, and supply the
place of gall, where, as in many constitutions, that is deficient. One ounce of the
Flowers and Buds should be put into an earthen vessel, and a pint and a half of
boiling water poured on them, and thus to stand all night. In the morning the clear
liquor with two spoonfuls of wine should be taken at three draughts, an hour and a
half distance from one another. Whoever will do this regularly for a week, will
have no sickness after meals, will feel none of that fulness so frequent from
indigestion, and wind will be no more troublesome; if afterwards, he will take but
a fourth part of this each day, the benefit will be lasting.' He further tells us
that if an ounce of these flowers be put into a pint of brandy and let to stand six
weeks, the resultant tincture will in a great measure prevent the increase of
gravel - and give great relief in gout. 'The celebrated Baron Haller has found vast
benefit by this; and myself have very happily followed his example.' [Top] [Top of
Wormwood, Common] WORMWOOD, ROMAN Botanical: Artemesia pontica Family: N.O.
Compositae ---Part Used---Herb. Roman Wormwood (Artemesia Pontica) is not
indigenous to this country, being a native of Southern Europe. It grows about the
same height as the Common Wormwood, but has smaller and more finely cut leaves, the
segments being narrower, the upper leaves more resembling those of Southernwood;
the leaves are white with fine hairs on both upper and under surfaces. The flowers,
which blossom in July, are numerous, at the tops of the branches, and are darker
and much smaller than those of Common Wormwood. This is the most delicate though
the least strong of the Wormwoods; the aromatic flavour with which its bitterness
is mixed causes it to be employed in making the liqueur Vermuth. Medicinally, the
fresh tops are used, and also the whole herb, dried. Much of the A. Pontica in
commerce is A. maritima. Culpepper considered the Roman Wormwood 'excellent to
strengthen the stomach.' Also that 'the juice of the fresh tops is good against
obstructions of the liver and spleen. . . . An infusion of the flowering tops
strengthens digestion. A tincture is good against gravel and gives great relief in
the gout.' Dr. John Hill says of this plant that it is the 'most delicate, but of
least strength. The Wormwood wine, so famous with the Germans, is made with Roman
Wormwood, put into the juice and work'd with it; it is a strong and an excellent
wine, not unpleasant, yet of such efficacy to give an appetite that the Germans
drink a glass with every other mouthful, and that way eat for hours together,
without sickness or indigestion.' [Top] [Top of Wormwood, Roman] WORMWOOD, SEA
Botanical: Artemesia maritima Family: N.O. Compositae Description Part Used
Medicinal Action and Uses ---Synonym---Old Woman. ---Parts Used---Young flowering
tops and shoots. ---Habitat---In Britain it is found as far-as Wigton on the West
and Aberdeen on the East; also in north-east Ireland and in the Channel Islands.
The Sea Wormwood, in its many variations of form, has an extremely wide
distribution in the northern hemisphere of the Old World, occurring mostly in
saltish soils. It is found in the salt marshes of the British Isles, on the coasts
of the Baltic, of France and the Mediterranean, and on saline soils in Hungary;
thence it extends eastwards, covering immense tracts in Southern Russia, the region
of the Caspian and Central Siberia to Chinese Mongolia. ---Description---It
somewhat resembles Artemesia Absinthium, but is smaller. Thestems rise about a foot
or 18 inches in height. The leaves are twice pinnatifid, with narrow, linear
segments, and, like the whole plant, are covered on both sides with a white cottony
down. The small, oblong flower-heads - each containing three to six tubular florets
- are of a yellowish or brownish tint; they are produced in August and September,
and are arranged in racemes, sometimes drooping, sometimes erect. Popularly this
species is called 'Old Woman,' in distinction to 'Old Man' or Southernwood, which
it somewhat resembles, though it is more delicate-looking and lacks the peculiar
refreshing scent of 'Old Man.' Dr. Hill says of this species: 'This is a very noble
bitter: its peculiar province is to give an appetite, as that of the Common
Wormwood is to assist digestion; the flowery tops and the young shoots possess the
virtue: the older Leaves and the Stalk should be thrown away as useless. . . . The
apothecaries put three times as much sugar as of the ingredient in their Conserves;
but the virtue is lost in the sweetness, those will not keep so well that have less
sugar, but 'tis easy to make them fresh as they are wanted.' The plant abounds in
salt marshes in which cattle have been observed to fatten quickly, and thus the
herb has acquired the reputation of being beneficial to them, but they do not eat
it generally, and the richness of maritime pasturage must be regarded as the true
reason of their improvement under such circumstances. [Top] [Top of Wormwood, Sea]
---Part Used---The flowering tops and young shoots are used, collected and dried in
the same manner as Wormwood. ---Medicinal Action and Uses---The plant possesses the
same properties as the otherWormwoods, but is less powerful. It is a bitter tonic
and aromatic. Although it is not now employed in regular medical practice, it is
often made use of by country people for intermittent fever, and for various other
medicinal purposes instead of the true Wormwood. Thornton, in his Family Herbal,
tells us that: 'beat up with thrice its weight of fine sugar, it is made up into a
conserve ordered by the London College, and may be taken where the other
preparations disgust too much.' It acts as a tonic and is good in worm cases, and
Culpepper gives the following uses for it: 'Boiling water poured upon it produces
an excellent stomachic infusion, but the best way is taking it in a tincture made
with brandy. Hysteric complaints have been completely cured by the constant use of
this tincture. In the scurvy and in the hypochondriacal disorders of studious,
sedentary men, few things have a greater effect: for these it is best in strong
infusion. The whole blood and all the juices of the body are effected by taking
this herb. It is often used in medicine instead of the Roman Wormwood, though it
falls far short of it in virtue.' See: MUGWORT SOUTHERNWOOD WORMSEED (LEVANT) [Top]
Common Name Index A MODERN HERBAL Home Page Bear in mind "A Modern Herbal" was
written with the conventional wisdom of the early 1900 's.