Mugwort

(Artemisia vulgaris)

Other Names:

Common mugwort, wormwood, pasture sagewort, sagebrush

Range:

Family:

Asteracea - Composite Family

Growth Type:

Herbaceous perennial

Height:

A. vulgaris can grow moe than 10 feet tall, but I typically find it under 4 feet tall.

Leaves:

The upper surface of the pinnate leaves are dark green and glabrous (lacking hairs). The underside is pubescent, covered in dense whitish tichomes (hairs). The lobes range from 1/4 - 1 inch wide. Rounded, lobeless, new leaves are arranged opposite of one another, and are attached to the stem with a thin, long petiole. The undersides of young leaves are woolly-looking.

Stem/Trunk:

The angular stems are green to purple looking.

Root:

The root system consists of numerous horizontal branched rhizomes from which adventitious roots are produced. As many as new 20 stems can grow from one root system. The main brown woody root, which is about 200 mm (7.9 in) long, has rootlets 51–102 mm (2.0–4.0 in) long, and approximately 2 mm (0.079 in) thick.

Flower Season:

Mid-summer to early autumn

Flower Appearance:

The yellow or reddish-looking flower heads are arranged in a branching panicle. The flowers are approximately ¼ long and radially symmetrical. The outer flowers of the flowerhead, or capitulum, are female and the inner ones bisexual.

Seed/Fruit:

The brown rectangular-shaped fruit has one seed, and has ridges, a narrow base, and tiny bristles on the end.

Miscellaneous characteristics:

N/A

Habitat:

Mugwort preferes soils alkaline soils low in nitrogen. Look for it in waste areas like roadsides and uncultivated areas. The plant can take over open, sandy ground.

Parts Used:

Leaves and roots/rhizomes

Culinary Uses:

The common name mugwort, arises from its historical use as a beer flavoring. It has also been used as a tea substitute.

Energetics
Taste: Bitter
Thermal: Warming
Humidity: Drying

Traditional Medicinal Uses:

Amenorrhea, Anorexia, Anxiety, Eczema, Chronic fatigue, Colic, Constipation, Convulsions, Depression, Diarrhea, Dysmenorrhea, Eczema, Epilepsy, Headaches and migraines, Indigestion, Insomnia, Menorrhagia, Nausea or vomiting, Nervous Dyspepsia, Round Worms, Thread Worms, Tension

Historically, A. vulgaris was referred to as the "mother of herbs" during the Middle Ages, and has been widely used in the traditional Chinese, European, and Hindu medicine.

Medicinal Actions:
Anthelmintic Antibacterial, Anticancer, Antifungal, Antihypertensive, Antihyperlipidemic Anti-Inflammatory, Antilipidemic Antinociceptive, Antioxidant, Antispasmodic, Emmenagogue, Hepatic, Lipolytic