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White Yarrow
Native and Introduced Perennial Forb, Seed Code: ACMI
- Seeds per lb: 2790000
- Average Height: 12-36 Inch
Also known as Western Yarrow, the Latin Mille means "1000" and folium means "leaf", refering to the numerous leaf segments. An aggressive white flower well adapted in all climates. It is hearty and survives well during drought conditions and prefers prairies, sagebrush plains, open woods, roadsides, and partially disturbed areas. It offers fair forage value for sheep and deer but is unpallatable to cattle. It grows from the semi-desert zone up to the subalpine zone. Adapted to a broad range of soils, but does best on sandy and gravelly loam.Western Yarrow has an interesting history above and beyond its use as a popular reclamation species. Native American tribes are recorded as having used yarrow for a wide variety of medicinal purposes. Often a tea was made from parts of the plant, to treat coughs, colds, throat irritations, toothaches, and respiratory diseases. It was also used as an eyewash, a tonic and a stimulant. Green leaves were use to relieve itching, chewed for toothaches, and used as a mild laxative. The plant has a numbing effect and was used to treat wounds and stop bleeding in battle. It has been said that the plant was named for Achilles of Homerﾒs Iliad, who supposedly treated soldierﾒs wounds with it. During the Civil War, yarrow was widely used to treat wounds and became known as "soldiersﾒ woundwort." Yarrow varies in taste and in potency depending on where it grows and at what stage of growth it is in. The best time to collect yarrow for tea is right before the flowers are produced, using only the new succulent leaves. An ethanol extract of yarrow has mosquito- repelling properties. More that 120 chemical compounds have been identified in yarrow, which is probably why it has been associated with so many different remedies.
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