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Yarrow has been used for thousands of years in many different cultures.  Even the name, Achillea, hints of its history.  It is said that the Greek hero Achilles used yarrow on the battle grounds of Troy to stop the bleeding wounds of his soldiers.  Achilles was renowned for his invulnerability.  Throughout history until World War I yarrow was carried in war because of its ability to staunch bleeding, thus the meaning of some of her common names like woundwort and staunchweed.  Taking a simple poultice (crushed plant mixed with a little water) and applied to a cut may help stop bleeding. 

Per Anne McIntyre in her book Flower Power, yarrow was thought to be richly endowed with spiritual properties, so it was preserved in temples and treated with special reverence.  Its ability to stop blood from flowing was seen as an ability to influence the ‘life-blood”, the essence that is carried in the blood.  Yarrow was also used as a charm or amulet to protect against negative energy and evil and even considered a love charm. 

Nowadays, yarrow is considered anti-inflammatory and antiseptic due to the volatile oils present in the plant; yarrow is astringent which is due to the tannins and resins in the plant (astringency helps stop bleeding).  The astringent or tightening effects of yarrow are felt throughout the body – staunching bleeding from the nose, the digestive system, and the uterus.  Yarrow is also a great support for the digestive tract due to her bitter qualities – bitters help stimulate appetite, enhance digestion and absorption because bitters increase digestive juices.  When drinking a tea of yarrow, circulation is enhanced as is perspiration.  This is the way yarrow works to reduce gentle fevers and clear toxins, heat and congestion.  Yarrow helps the body eliminate through the skin and the kidneys.  Per David Winston you can even chew the fresh leaves, flowers, or roots and reduce the pain of toothache.  Yarrow is another multi-talented plant, offering her gifts to us to enhance our health. 

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November’s herb is Yarrow, Latin Name Achillea millefolium.  Some common names for yarrow include milfoil, thousand-leaf (due to the finely, pinnately-divided leaves), woundwort, bloodwort and nosebleed.  Yarrow is an easy herb to grow in our central Maryland gardens; it also grows in the wild ~ to protect our environment, try to use cultivated sources of yarrow, especially from your own garden.  Yarrow is a pretty flowering plant that adds a nice interest to the landscape, especially because of the fine leaves, that look a little like a finely leafed fern.  The part that is used for herbal medicine is the whole flowering plant (flowers and leaves), which is harvested mid to late summer. 

Yarrow tastes a little sharp, bitter, and astringent, yet mildly so.  Yarrow is considered an aromatic bitter that is warming and has a tendency to maintain our normal body temperature energetically ~ it warms our body when cool, and cools our body when warm.  It’s a really nice plant to include in herbal tea blends as yarrow offers many health benefits. 

Some of the physiological actions of yarrow include astringent (tightens tissue), peripheral vasodilator, diaphoretic (helps the body sweat during a fever, thus reducing body temperature), digestive support (due to the aromatic bitter properties, it calms spasms and tension in the gut, and thus has a stimulating effect on digestion itself) and considered a styptic (helps stop bleeding, internally and topically).

See if you can find some yarrow tea and try enjoying an infusion of yarrow (use 1 tablespoon of dried yarrow herb, pour 8 ounces of hot water over the dried herb, cover and let sit for 15 minutes, strain and drink), really noticing the energetic qualities of the plant, including taste, smell and how it feels in your body.  More on yarrow next time.