Herbology 101: Yarrow

Yarrow's Latin name Achillea millefolium is from the Trojan wars and is so called for the Greek hero, Achilles, due to its reputation as a healer for soldiers on the battle field and herbal militaris for stopping blood flow in wounds. As the folk name, nosebleed, confirms, its main property is stopping bleeding and antiseptic.

Other common names for yarrow include gordaldo, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, anguinary, milfoil, soldiers woundwart, stanch weed, thousand-seal, thousand-leaf (Latin: milfoil), seven year's love , plumajillo (Spanish: little feather). It's from the same plant family as sunflowers, asters, and daisy's; asteraceae. Its native homeland is the northern hemisphere. It prefers well drained, lightly disturbed soil and can become invasive if left unchecked. It makes an excellent ground cover to prevent soil erosion due to its drought resistance.

Today, it is commonly used to treat common colds, influenza, digestive disorders, circulatory problems, and urinary tract problems. It is commonly found growing in Europe and North American meadows and plains. Some varieties have been especially bred for their color for use in flower gardens.

A Quick overview

Its character is cool ,sweet, astringent, and slightly bitter. Its constituents include volatile oil (proaulenes) isovaleric acid, salicylic acid, asparagin, sterols, flavonoids, bitters, tannins, and coumarins. Many parts can be used in herbal medicine including: aerial parts (flowers, leaves) to promote sweating, relax blood vessels, stimulate digestion, restore menstruation, and reduce fever. As an essential oil it works as an anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, and antispasmodic.

In medieval times it was often eaten as a vegetable and was said to be pleasant when eaten in soup or cooked like spinach. It can even be dried and used as a cooking herb lending a sweet and bitter taste.

Parts Used

The flowers are rich in chemicals which can be converted using steam to create anti-allergenic compounds and used for various allergic mucus problems including hay fever. This is efficient since they are ready to harvest during late summer and early fall. The flower parts can also be steam distilled to make essential oil which can then be used as an anti-inflammatory, for chest rubs and diffusers for colds and flues.

The leaves encourage blood clotting and are excellent when used for nose- bleeds. They were also used to start nosebleeds by inserting them into the nostrils, which also provided migraine relief.

Dried aerial parts, including leaves, flowers, and stems can be used to treat phlegmatic conditions. They can encourage bile flow in the digestive system, be used as a diuretic, and a blood tonic. They can be used to encourage blood flow as a treatment for high-blood pressure. They are also effective when used as a sweat inducer to bring down a fever or bring on menstruation. They are best when harvested during the flowering season.

Some precautions are in order as yarrow can cause allergic reactions in people, especially those sensitive to other members of the daisy family. Prolonged use can cause skin sensitivity and photo sensitivity to the sun. They should not be used in large doses during pregnancy as they do stimulate the uterus.

Applications include

Flower: infuse like tea and drink for upper respiratory phlegm or use as a skin wash for eczema.

Diffuser: use essential oil or fresh aerial parts in a differ during hay fever season as an anti-allergenic or anti-asthmatic. May also be left to simmer in a pot.

Essential oil: use diluted in a massage oil for inflamed joints, especially in conjunction with essential oil St. johns wart.

As a chest rub: mix it with eucalyptus, peppermint, hyssop, or thyme oils and dilute in sunflower oil. (25 drops to 25ml of oil)

Leaves: use fresh, tender, young leaves to stop a nose bleed by inserting them into the nostril.

Poultice: wrap washed fresh leaves on cut and skin abrasions.

Infusion: infuse the aerial parts in water like tea to reduce fevers and as a digestive tonic.

Tincture: purchase or make a tincture and use for urinary disorders, menstrual problems, and cardiovascular conditions.

Compress: soak a pad or gauze in infusion or diluted tincture and use as a compression on varicose veins.

Other medicinal benefits

Historically, yarrow has been used for its astringent effects. It has been used to treat hemorrhoids, headaches, to stop bleeding, to promote blood flow, to speed recovery from bruising, to treat respiratory problems, to fight allergies (internal and external) and inflammation, and to stimulate urinary, digestive stimulant, and ease menstrual problems. The flowers are the most medicinally active parts of the plant, with the leaves coming in a close second.

Other less known applications include: lowering blood pressure, blood purifier, toning blood vessels, treating diabetes, cystitis, insect repellant, regulating the liver, soothing the lungs, measles, mumps, chicken pox, blood clots, toothaches, soothe sore nipples, treat ulcers, urinary antiseptic, tones the uterus, aids vision, and varicose veins.

Since it contains salicylic acid, it acts like aprine (a salicylic acid), and can be used to treat acne. It is also used as a quinine substitute. Swedish scientists have even found it to repel mosquitoes. It has been used in native American medicine as "Life Medicine" by the Navajo, Pawnee, Chippewa, Cherokee, and other plain's native Americans. Even the shakers used it for conditions such as hemorrhaging and flatulence. The purple portion of the roots was often chewed to soothe the pain of mouth sores and toothaches.

In the Garden

Yarrow also improves the soil where it grows, deters pests and attracts predatory insects such as wasps and lady bugs. It makes good fertilizer and can inhibit many soil diseases due to its antiseptic effects. It is said to improve the growth and heal plants that grown near it. Even birds, such as the common starling, use it to line their nests since it inhibits the growth of parasites.

However, do not pick your own from the wild as yarrow does resemble other deadly plants such as water parsnip, deadly hemlock, western hemlock, cowbane, and other, non-medicinal breeds of yarrow.