Updated 4 January 2024
Common names
- Common Wormwood, Wild Wormwood, Artemisia, St John's Belt or Crown, Fire Herb, Royal Herb, St Peter's Tobacco, Herb of a Hundred Flavours
Common origins
- Europe, North America, Asia
Botanical classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Asterales
- Family: Asteraceae
- Genus: Artemisia
Components
- Flavonoids
- Polyines
- Triterpenes and sterols
- Sesquiterpene lactones: vulgarin
- Coumarin derivatives
- Essential oils
Parts used
- Leaves, flower heads, root
Organoleptic properties
- Smell: strong aroma when the leaves are crumpled.
- Flavour: young leaves resemble artichokes, sweet then bitter; the roots are sweet.
Properties
- Bitter Tonic, Aperitif
- Digestive
- Antispasmodic
- Emmenagogue, increases uterine contractions, facilitates return of menstruation after childbirth
- Choleretic
- Hepatoprotective
- Antipyretic
- Antibacterial, antifungal
- Dewormer
Indications
Menstrual cycle disorders:
- Amenorrhoea (if the cycle is functional, not suitable in the case of prolonged amenorrhoea without hormonal activity, psychogenic)
- Dysmenorrhoea
Digestive and liver diseases:
Other indications:
- Hysteria
- Seizures in children, epilepsy
- Dizziness
- Verminosis
Precautions / Contraindications
- Not recommended for pregnant women or children.
How to use / Current dose
Internal use
- As an infusion: 20 to 30 g per 1 litre of cold water, infuse for 10 minutes and drink 2 to 3 cups a day before or between meals.
- As a tincture or other hydroalcoholic extract: 30 drops in a little water, 2 to 3 times a day.
- Powder or dried plant extract (herb): 2 to 4 g per day (extract) and up to 8 g (total powder).
- As a juice: for amenorrhoea.
External use
- As a compress of leaves and flowering tops: on the lower abdomen, after childbirth to promote the elimination of blood clots and on the hindquarters.
Find out more
It should not be confused with other species such as Artemisia annua, used for malaria, Artemisia maritima and especially Artemisia verlotorium, which is rich in neurotoxic thujone.
Additional information
Habitat and botanical description
This reddish-stemmed herbaceous plant grows from 50 cm to over 1 m tall. Its deeply lobed leaves are dark green on top and silvery and felt-like on the underside. The small, yellowish, tubular flower heads are grouped in very stalked panicles.
This plant grows in dry, arid soils and is common in uncultivated areas.
Harvest time
The leaves and flowering tops are harvested from June to August, preferably in dry, arid areas, before being dried.
Mythology / History / Anecdotes and traditional virtues
Artemisia may derive from Artemis, the Greek goddess of wild beasts and protector of women and virgins, or from Artemisia, Queen of Caria, both of whom were familiar with the virtues of plants, particularly in the gynaecological sphere.
The Aztecs and the Indians used it, like sage, in purification rituals and to ward off evil spirits. Mugwort was once considered a magical plant, associated with white magic.
Dioscorides prescribed it to induce menstruation and speed up childbirth. It was known as 'the plant of women'.
In Chinese medicine it is used in moxibustion, where moxas are sticks of dried mugwort burned near acupuncture points.