Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

I have always loved the scent of yarrow — deeply medicinal and pungent, it’s refreshing and soothing at the same time. Long used medicinally, this herb has a wonderful array of common names in English, including woundwort, nosebleed plant, old man’s pepper and sanguinary to name just a few.

What it looks like

Yarrow may be mistaken for a number of other common field herbs, including wild carrot and, more worryingly, hemlock. It’s quite important to be able to positively and confidently identify yarrow. It’s not as tall as the other two listed here, growing on average 30-50cm high (occasionally outside of these). Its stems and leaves are the same colour, dark green. The leaves look like feathers and are a little hairy as well, growing 3-6cm long and spiralling up the stem. The flower heads are made up of many small flowers which look like they have tiny flowers in the centre of each of them (ray and disk flowers - see photo) and are usually white, occasionally pinkish. The small flowers grow densely together to form a flat flower head, much more densely than with wild carrot or hemlock. It’s also, as mentioned above, highly scented with a sweet, medicinal and pleasant odour.

Uses

Its botanical name comes from Greek mythology, where the hero Achilles was said to use the herb to treat the wounds of his men. Its use as a treatment for wounds is well-attested throughout Europe and North America. It is a natural insect repellent and may be used as such, both on the body and strewn on the floor of a shelter or anywhere else where insects are unwanted. It is a bitter herb and as such has been used to flavour beer and other drinks, however it is not edible in the traditional sense as it will cause stomach upset. It can be used to produce a green or yellow dye.