Botanical Name: Achillea millefolium.
Other Common Names: Common yarrow, carpenter’s weed, knight’s milfoil, noble yarrow, old man’s pepper, nosebleed, staunchgrass, soldier’s woundwort, sanguinary, devil’s nettle, devil’s plaything, bad man’s plaything, yarroway, herb militaris, thousand leaf, thousand seal, field hop, millefolium, ladies’mantle, gandana, i-chi-kao, gearwe, yerw.
Habitat: Yarrow is a hardy perennial that is native to Eurasia and widely naturalized in the United States.
There is some debate as to whether the herb is circumpolar; that is, whether it is native throughout the temperate regions of the world. There is a related species found in America known as wooly and/or western yarrow (achillea lanulosa).
Yarrow can be found in waste areas, edges of railway tracks, lawns, grassy areas, old fields, along fence lines, roadsides and other edges.
It does well in nutrition poor soil as long as it is well-drained. It prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade.
Yarrow is drought-resistant; however it is susceptible to mildew and rust. It is generally free of disease and insect predation.
Plant Description: Achillea millefolium is a very hardy perennial that in the early springtime sends up a rosette of long, feathery, stalked leaves.
The stem is angular and rough with leaves that are alternate, 3 to 4 inches long and 1 inch wide, clasping the stem. The leaves are bipinnatifid, the finely cut segments giving the herb a feathery look (hence the common name “thousand leaf”).
A fuzzy, hairy flower stalk appears later in the season, with shorter, alternate, unstalked leaves that may be rather sparse. Yarrow is pleasantly aromatic, flowering early summer through early fall with white, or sometimes pink, flat-topped clusters.
The flowers are about a quarter-inch in diameter, with four to six, but generally five ray flowers with three teeth at their tip. The ray flowers are usually wider than they are long, and surround many little disk flowers.
Yarrow blooms for a long time, eventually producing seed heads that remain standing throughout the winter. The basal leaves often persist through winter and may still show green when the snow melts in springtime.
Plant Part Used: Arial parts; stems, leaves and flower.
Yarrow is a traditional woman’s herb, used to ease menstruation. Many herbal sources regard it as a uterine tonic. A number of studies have supported the use of it to enhance circulation to the uterus, improving the tone, increasing menstrual flow and reducing uterine spasms and menstrual cramps. Yarrow is used as a natural decongestant and expectorant having astringent action that is useful in treating nasal congestion due to colds and allergies caused by molds, dust, pollen and dander.Skin conditions such as eczema are treated with an infusion of yarrow.Yarrow is used as a natural anti-inflammatory in the treatment of arthritis and rheumatism. The volatile oil is rich in sesquiterpene lactones, and alkamides giving yarrow its anti-inflammatory activity. The presence of the alkamides may also further reduce inflammation.
Dosage and Administration.
Yarrow flowers – 3 g per day as a tea or infusion.
Extract (1:1, 25 ethanol) – 1 to 4 ml three times a day.
Dried herb – 2 to 4 g of infusion or yarrow capsules
Could not find product data.
Tincture (1:5; 40 ethanol) – two to four times a day.