Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) also known as Carpenter’s Weed, Woundwort and Milfoil.

Medicinal Plants: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) where it grows and its historical medicinal uses…

Yarrow is commonly looked upon as a weed which gardeners destroy with little thought. It is found in meadows throughout Asia and Europe but also now grows in North America and Australia. It has fern like leaves and produces stems with clumps of small white flowers and a yellow centre.

The Yarrow plant can be harvested and dried and its flowers can then be used to make an infusion. 2-4 grams of dried flowers steeped in boiling water (as you would make tea). Yarrow has many medicinal uses. These include:

In Medieval times Yarrow tea was sipped to improve digestion, to reduce flatulence, to treat coughs and as a tranquillizer. It was also used as a mouth wash. Perhaps its greatest use was in the treatment of wounds (hence its common name woundwort). Wounds, lesions and skin eruptions were bathed in a Yarrow infusion three times a day.

WARNING: These articles are for leisure reading only and NOT for medicinal instruction. Never use any medicines or medicinal plants without consulting a medical practitioner.