Yarrow - Natural Remedy for Almost Everything
Herbal Contraceptive, Natural Hair Loss and Hemorrhoid Treatment
Among its many names are milfoil, nosebleed, staunchweed, bloodwort, soldiers's woundwort, and staunchgrass.
As useful as it has been through the centuries, yarrow is considered a wild herb that grows where it wants and is difficult to contain. It is resistant to most commercial weed killers.
Yarrow has few natural predators because of the camphor like scent that has been said to be strong enough to protect other plants from insect attack, making it a natural pest control.
The bitter leaves of yarrow are not appetizing to grazing animals. If hunger forces cows to eat the herb, the flavor of the milk changes.
The lacy looking lance shaped leaves are so numerous that some believe the name milfoil describes its number in the thousands. Whether eaten or drunk as herbal tea, smoked or bathed in, yarrow leaves have been used as a homemade herbal remedy for skin problems, stomach problems and as a sedative.
Early Uses of Medicinal Yarrow Herbs
Native Americans used yarrow herbs as a balding cure, contraceptive and a cure for earache.
In the 1600s, some herbalists advised migraine sufferers to put the leaves of the yarrow up into the nostrils so that the ensuing bleeding could ease the pain. Perversely, other herbalists of this period suggested the same treatment to stop nose bleeds.
Fistulas, ulcers and inflammations have all been treated with a homemade herbal ointment of yarrow leaves, and sufferers of toothache chewed the leaves for relief.
The nicknames devil’s nettle and bad man’s plaything are thought to have come about because of the belief that witches used it when they cast spells. Yet, baby-stealing witches were thought to be thwarted by hanging the herb yarrow on the crib.
Evil spirits have been kept away from churches with woven yarrow garlands.
Medicinal Properties of Yarrow
Azulene, camphor, eugenol, salicylic acid, rutin and tannins are the active ingredients in yarrow that allow the herb to act as homemade anti-inflammatory and astringent. It also acts to lower blood pressure and reduce bleeding. Yarrow can induce sweating and helps to reduce a fever.
Yarrow contains iron, potassium, calcium which prompted its use as tonics that were used as natural remedies for diabetes, herbal sedatives, and treatment for hypochondria, dysentery and hemorrhoids.
Once studied as a possible cancer-preventing agent, yarrow was dropped as an official medicine by the British Pharmacopoeia in 1781, followed by the U.S. Pharmocopoeia in 1882.
Culinary Uses of the Yarrow Herb
Called old man’s pepper, yarrow has been used as a snuff.
The Alpine yarrow was used by the Swiss to make vinegar, and it has been used as a spice for salads.
European species of yarrow have provided an extract of the flower heads that was used to flavor liqueurs and soft drinks.
Yarrow is called field hop in Sweden and was once used in the beer making process. Some claimed that hop-brewed beer was not as intoxicating as beer brewed with yarrow.
Shaudys, Phyllis. The Pleasure of Herbs. Vermont: Storey Communications, 1986.
Polunin, Miriam, Robbins, Christopher. The Natural Pharmacy. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992.
Atha, Anthony. The Ultimate Herb Book. Great Britain: Collens & Brown Limited, 2001.
Sanders, Jack. The Secrets of Wildflowers. Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2003.
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