YARROW

Latin name: Achillea millefolium

Family : Compositae/Asteraceae

Folk names:Achillea, Arrowroot, Bad man’s plaything, Carpenter’s weed, Death flower, Devil’s nettle, Eerie field hops, Geawre, Hundred leafed grass, Knight’s milfoil, Knyghten, Lady’s mantle, Millefoil, Milfoil, Militaris, Military herb, Millefolium, Noble yarrow, Nosebleed, Old Man’s Mustard, Old man’s pepper, Sanguinary, Seven year’s love, Snake’s grass, Soldier’s Wound wort, Stanch Griss, Stanch weed, Tansy, Thousand seal wound wort, Yarroway, Yerw.

Actions: Anti-inflammatory Antiseptic, astringent, anti-pyretic,antis[pasmodic,carminative,cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, hypotensive, urinary antiseptic,vasodilator,vulnerary.

Parts used: Aerial parts.

Constituents: Up to 1.4% volatile oil (composed of up to 51% azulene, borneol, terpineol, camphor, cineol, isoartemesia, ketone, trace of thujone), lactones, flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, saponins, sterols, a bitter glyco-alkaloid (achilleine), cyanidin, amino acids, acids (including salicylic acid), sugars (including glucose, sucrose and mannitol).

Uses: As a diaphoretic and anti-pyretic, it is very useful in fevers and it is these factors that have seen it included in the old remedy for colds and flu combined with Elderflowers and Peppermint. It can also help to regulate periods and also stimulates digestion.

It helps dilate the peripheral blood vessels and in doing so, helps lower blood pressure. This is due to the alkaloid in the herb. The tannins give yarrow its astringent properties which help in conditions like nosebleeds and internal or external bleeding. It has also been used for piles, particularly if they are bleeding. It also has pain relieving properties (salicylic acid) so can be used for joint pain or painful wounds. An animal study showed that yarrow protects the liver from toxic chemical damage and a trial in India showed yarrow helps hepatitis.