Wormwood, (Artemisia absinthium), is an upright herbaceous perennial, native to temperate regions of Europe, Asia and North Africa, and naturalised in Britain many centuries ago.
Wormwood can grow to 4ft / 1.2m, with flower stems holding composite heads of very small yellow ‘disc florets’ – there are no petals. The stems themselves look white, and the deeply lobed leaves have an almost silvery hue, because all parts of the plant, except for the florets, are covered in minute, matted, white hairs. This silvery appearance, rather than the insignificant flowers, makes wormwood an attractive garden plant, and gardeners often cut down the flower stems. When young, the leaves are strongly aromatic. It grows well in sun or shade, its wild habitat being rough ground such as gravel, quarries, waste ground and hedge-banks. It has the additional advantage of repelling ants, flies and mice; but in the garden it can become invasive.
The Artemisia genus of the Asteraceae plant family includes Mugworts, Southernwoods and Tarragon: they often look similar at first glance, and most are aromatic.
The term Mugwort derives from the Anglo-Saxon word for a specific herb, mucgwyrt, mentioned in the 10thcentury “Nine Herbs Charm”. In Old English, ‘wort’ is the word for plant or root and forms part of many of our common names for herbs (Lungwort, Liverwort, Ribwort, Sneezewort, St Johns’ Wort etc). Common Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is known for its use in many medicinal preparations, but this page is specifically about the mugwort usually referred to as Wormwood.
Although famous for its use as an ingredient in the notorious drink Absinthe (see below), wormwood earns its place in our Physic Garden for its long medicinal history.
WARNING Toxic in large quantities. People sensitive to other members of the Asteraceae family, including mugworts, marigolds, ragweeds, etc, may also have an allergic reaction to wormwood, either by inhalation of pollen or touching the leaves.
Medicinal Uses
Known in traditional medicine for millennia, wormwood has been prescribed for a range of medical conditions. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, recommended wormwood remedies in the 5th century BC for anaemia, jaundice, menstrual pains and rheumatism.
It was known also that internal worms and other parasites can be killed off by herbal medicines that include wormwood, and it is generally supposed that this is the reason for its common name: as John Gerard wrote, it “voideth away the wormes of the guts”.
Wormwood is one of the plants known as ‘bitter herbs’. These have long been variously prescribed to enhance appetite, prevent sickness, as a remedy for diarrhoea and a cure for indigestion. Modern research supports this, explaining that the taste of bitterness causes the brain to stimulate the gastrointestinal system: stomach, liver, bile duct, intestine, etc.
Alongside traditional digestive applications, science also notes that these chemical reactions can, by improving the ingestion of nutrients, aid recovery from long term illnesses.
Wormwood is also prescribed for pain due to arthritis. Many chronic health conditions are known to be partly caused by long-term low-level inflammation, and wormwood contains the chemical azulene, an anti-inflammatory compound. Azulene is also found in Scented Mayweed and Yarrow; and you will find more information about it here.
Myth and Magic
The English name Wormwood is said to be derived from the plant’s ability to kill internal parasites, but another suggestion is that it comes from an Anglo-Saxon word “wermode”, meaning “mind preserver”.
In the 16th century, wormwood was believed to be an antidote against poisoning by hemlock and toadstools – perhaps by causing the patient to vomit? And it was supposed to be efficacious if ever you should have the misfortune to be bitten by a sea-dragon. Is this idea connected with the Old Norse ‘orm’ and Old English ‘wyrm’, both of which meant serpent or dragon?
Other myths are related to its presence in Absinthe.
Absinthe is a green-coloured alcoholic drink flavoured by several different herbs including wormwood. Wormwood’s essential oil contains thujone, a chemical found in a number of medicinal plants including sage and tansy. Thujone is highly toxic if taken in large quantities, as it excites the central nervous system and can cause severe convulsions; but the small amounts found in a glass of absinthe would not produce this effect.
And thujone is not an hallucinogen; so if you’re floating on pink clouds accompanied by giant worms that’s probably something else you’ve been taking along with your absinthe.
The following links will take you to excellent sources of information about absinthe:
https://www.originalabsinthe.com/absinthe-blog
https://sciencehistory.org/distillations/the-devil-in-a-little-green-bottle-a-history-of-absinthe
But while you’re here, we’ll provide a potted version:
Wormwood (absinthe in French), mixed with other herbs, was prescribed for fevers and dysentery experienced by the French army in its North African campaigns in the 1830s & 40s. To make it more palatable, the soldiers mixed it with wine, and took the green concoction back to France. This new drink, with its exotic colour (derived from the chlorophyll in the herbal ingredients) and high alcoholic content, grew in popularity. When a few radical Parisian poets and artists credited “La Fée Verte” (the green fairy) with aiding their creativity, it became associated with ‘mad genius’, and artistic decadence. Less liberal-minded citizens, however, saw Absinthe drinking as a symptom of general degeneracy.
Doctors and scientists could not agree about its true effects on behaviour. Other factors, economic and political, came into play ad the result, in 1915, was a ban on its sale in France (since revoked).
The British medical and scientific establishments were sceptical about the evidence against absinthe, however. It has never been illegal here, but never particularly popular either.
It was made illegal in the USA in 1912 and remained so until 2007. Even now, the drink sold legally as Absinthe in the USA must contain less than 10mg per litre of thujone, whereas in the EU and the UK the limit is 35mg per litre.
Acknowledgments Thanks to the following for much of this information
webmd.com
victoriananursery.co.uk
wildflowerfinder.org.uk
microscopy-uk.org.uk
indigo-herbs.co.uk
herbalhistory.org
sciencehistory.org
originalabsinthe.com
