Mugwort

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{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Mugwort | image = Koeh-016.jpg | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | ordo = Asterales | familia = Asteraceae | genus = Artemisia | species = A. vulgaris | binomial = Artemisia vulgaris | binomial_authority = L. }}

Mugwort or Common Wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris) is a species from the daisy family Asteraceae. It is also known as Felon Herb, St. John's Plant, Chrysanthemum Weed, and Wild Wormwood.

It is native to temperate Europe and Asia. It is a very common plant growing on nitrogenous soils, like weedy and uncultivated areas, such as waste places and roadsides, and in wooded areas and wetlands.

It is a tall herb growing up to 1.5 meters. The deep green leaves are pinnate, with white tomentose hairs on their underside. The erect stem has often a red-purplish tinge.

The rather small flowers (5 mm long) are radially symmetrical with many petals. The narrow and numerous capitula (flower heads) spread out in racemose panicles. Mugwort flowers from July to September.

Mugwort contains ethereal oils (such as cineole, or wormwood oil, and thujone), flavonoids, triterpenes, and coumarin derivatives.

1 Culinary uses
2 Medicinal properties
- 2.1 Warnings
3 See also
4 External links

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Culinary uses

The leaves and buds, best picked shortly before the plant flowers in July to September, are used as flavoring agent. Mugwort tastes slightly bitter.

Mugwort is used to season fat meat and fish. In Germany, it is mainly used to season goose, especially the roast goose traditionally eaten for Christmas.

Mugwort is also used in Korea and Japan to give festive rice cakes a greenish color.

In the Middle Ages Mugwort was used as part of a herbal mixture called gruit, used in the flavouring of beer before the widespread introduction of hops.

Image:Artemisia vulgaris0.jpg

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Medicinal properties

The root of the plant is used for medicinal purposes. Mugwort was used from ancient times as a remedy against fatigue and to protect travellers against evil spirits and wild animals. Roman soldiers put mugwort in their sandals to protect their feet against fatigue. Chewing some leaves will kill the fatigue and stimulate the nervous system.

Mugwort has an aromatic smell. Poor people used mugwort, sometimes mixed with other herbs, as a substitute for tobacco. It can also be smoked mixed with or as a substitute for marijuana, for it evokes a dreamy state of consciousness.

It was also used as an anthelminthic, so it is sometimes confused with wormwood (Artemisia absinthium).

Mugwort is much used in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine in a pulverized, aged, and recompounded form called moxa. Since it also causes uterine contractions, it has been used to cause abortion.

It plays a role in Asian traditional medicine as a method of correcting breech presentation. This method is termed moxibustion. However, a recent randomized controlled study (BJOG. 112(6):743-7, 2005 Jun) of 123 patients yielded inconclusive evidence.

Much used in witchcraft, mugwort is reputed to be useful in inducing lucid dreaming and astral travel. Smoking of mugwort prior to sleeping is said to increase the intensity of dreams, and to aid in the recall of dreams upon waking.

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