Yarrow is a perennial herb with fernlike foliage. The foliage is covered with silky or wooly hairs; this herb produces white flowers in clusters. Yarrow is native to Europe but was brought to North America where it flourishes.
Yarrow pollen fossils have been found in Neanderthal burial caves, suggesting that this herb has a VERY long history. Dried yarrow stalks are the traditional choice for casting the I-Ching, the Chinese divination practice. During the Trojan War, Achilles is thought to have packed yarrow into wounds to stop bleeding. Some botanists think that yarrow’s scientific name — achillea millefolium — comes from this story.
Yarrow remained important in healing (especially in battlefield hospitals) up through the American Civil War. The Chinese used a relative of yarrow to treat bleeding and inflammation. Native Americans used yarrow for injuries and sores; more than forty different tribes used the herb in healing. In fact, Native Americans identified nearly thirty different ailments that responded to yarrow’s touch. Sixteenth century healers used crushed yarrow leaves to stop a nosebleed; other healers of the same time used yarrow to test a lover’s devotion. Stick a yarrow leave up your nose and twitch it — if your love is faithful, you’ll end up with a nosebleed. I would think that sticking a leaf up your nose might ensure a nosebleed anyway, if you go point-first.
So how much of yarrow’s long history tests out in modern medicine? Studies have shown some useful properties in yarrow:
- An alkaloid from the plant that encouraged blood clotting was discovered in the 1950s.
- A volatile oil from the plant (known as azulene) has anti-inflammatory abilities.
- Flavonoids in the plant have some anti-spasmodic abilities.
- Yarrow contains salicylic acid derivatives (just like willow) that make it useful in treating fever and reducing pain.
Yarrow is also used as an astringent and cleanser.