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Wormwood, the Herb.
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WHAT IS WORMWOOD?
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Introduction to Wormwood:
Called Absinthium
by
the Romans for the latin word absinthial meaning "bitter".
The name Wormwood may have come from the Anglo-Saxon word wermode
meaning "waremood" or "mind preserver", or the Greek word apsinthion
meaning "undrinkable" (because of its bitter taste).
The Greeks dedicated
wormwood to the goddess Artemisia. They claimed it counteracted the
poisons of hemlock, mushrooms, and sea dragons!
The bitterness
is thought to be found in the Bible, Proverbs 5, under A. herba-alba
or A. Judaica.
Hippocrates prescribed
it for jaundice, rheumatism, anemia, and menstrual pains.
Wormwood has been
used medicinally to expel intestinal worms for over 3500 years.
Absinthium, the
plant's specific name, denotes the traditional and most celebrated use
of wormwood -- in the potent French drink, Absinthe,
reputedly first prepared by witches.
The plant, via
the Old English wermod (spirit mother) and the German wermut, gives its
name to vermouth and is still used as a flavoring. |
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Biological name:
Artemisia Absintium.
Description:
Approximately 4 feet
in height. Dark green in color, leaves are covered in silky, grayish
hairs and have downy undersides. Shrub and bushes are very coarse,
known to spread and sprawl, and are very aromatic. The leaves and
roots exude a substance that restricts the growth of many neighboring plants.
Known to grow wild on roadsides and waste ground. Perennial: Grows
from mid-summer to mid-autumn.
Habitat:
Native to the
Mediterranean and central Europe. Introduced to North America from
Newfoundland, and now naturalized in many parts of the northeastern United
States and Canada.
Constituents:
Rich in essential oils
including thujone bitters (absinthum), absinthol, thujyl, bitter sesquiterpene
lactones (absinthin, etc), flavonoids, azulenes, and glycosides.
Related Herbs:
Related to Mugwort
(A. vulgaris), Southernwood (A. abrotanum),
Tarragon (A. dracunculus) and the sagebrushes of American desert country.
Similar garden attractions are Roman Wormwood (A. pontica) and Old Woman
(A. maritima). A quiterpene lactone in Sweet Wormwood (A. annua)
call Quighaaosu has successfully cured thousands of Chinese with malaria. |
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