Yarrow (Achillea spp.) has been named the 2024 Herb of the Year by the International Herb Association.
In honor of the announcement, the St. Louis Herb Society is offering some insight on this flowering herb and its uses.
Defining an herb
Gardeners today may look at the approximately 85 species of yarrow as colorful, long-blooming additions to their flower gardens rather than the basils and sages that come to mind when someone says “herb.”
Broadly, professionals define herbs as “plants with a use.” More narrowly, herbs can be thought of as having savory, medicinal, or aromatic purposes. By any of these criteria, yarrow qualifies as an herb.
Is it an herb or a herb? It depends on the pronunciation, since words that start with consonant sounds require “a” and words that start with vowel sounds require “an”. Many countries pronounce the “h” in herb, but in the United States it is silent. Both are correct, but the Missouri Botanical Garden defers to the U.S. pronunciation.
What Is Yarrow?
The botanical name for Yarrow, Achillea, harks back to Greek mythology. In Homer’s Iliad he describes the hero Achilles using yarrow to stop bleeding and heal the wounds of Trojan warriors.
Native to the northern hemisphere, common yarrow (Achillea millifolium) has gray-green, hairy, fern-like foliage and tiny white flowers in large, flattened clusters. The flowers are attractive to butterflies, bees, and other valued pollinators.
The specific epithet “millefolium” translates from Latin as “thousand leaved,” making note of the aromatic, dainty, feather-like foliage.
Introduced into North America during Colonial times, yarrow has been around long enough to be considered a naturalized native plant. In the wild, it grows along roadsides, hiking trails and on dry, sunny slopes.
Yarrow can go by a myriad of common names including devil’s nettle, milfoil, dog daisy, soldier’s woundwort, old-man’s pepper and thousandleaf.
Historic Uses for Yarrow
Popular cultivars such as yellow ‘Coronation Gold,’ red-orange ‘Paprika’, and deep pink ‘Montrose Rose’ are prized for long bloom time, garden color, use in bouquets, and even in dried arrangements. But historically, the uses for native yarrow go back thousands of years and provide even more reason why yarrow qualifies as a “useful” plant.
Most famous as a remedy for wounds, with crushed leaves acting to both stop bleeding and as an antiseptic, yarrow is also touted as a tonic, stimulant, and tea that will bring relief from fevers, colds, and to dispel melancholy.
In the Middle Ages, before the use of hops in beer, yarrow was an important ingredient in making gruit, a collection of herbs used in brewing to flavor beer.
It also has been employed as a dye for wool and, depending upon the solution, will result in yellow to green cloth.
Growing Yarrow Today
As noted on the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Plant Finder website, yarrow grows best in lean, dry to medium, well-drained sandy loam in full sun.
Plants will tolerate hot, humid summers and drought. They also will tolerate poor soil as long as drainage is good. Yarrow can tend to flop if grown in moist rich soils.
Depending on the cultivar, yarrow can range in height from 1-3 feet and have a spread varying from 1- 2 feet. With a bloom time from June through September, deadheading and cutting plants back after flowering can encourage additional blooms and keep yarrow neater in appearance.
Did you know? The St. Louis Herb Society maintains an herb garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The herb garden is located directly behind Tower Grove House.
Some species can spread aggressively via rhizomes and self-seeding and can naturalize into substantial colonies if not checked. Home gardeners should research cultivars if this could become a problem.
The St. Louis Herb Society Annual Sale
As Herb of the Year, Achillea millifolium is one of the native and pollinator plants that will be on sale at the St. Louis Herb Society annual herb sale.
Each year the St. Louis Herb Society invites hosts its annual sale at the Missouri Botanical Garden, offering over thousands of plants and over a hundred varieties of herbs to take home.
Written by the St. Louis Herb Society
Jessika Eidson | Public Information Officer
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