Yarrow - Herb Blurbs

February 28, 2018

Since it seems like we are getting a lot of customers asking about one of our favorite herbal allies here at Moonrise, we'd love to share a bit of info on Yarrow with you. This prolific and long-blooming plant makes a wonderful medicinal herb for wounds, and taken internally can help reduce fevers. We hope you enjoy learning a bit about this amazing plant and if you have any other uses, we'd love to hear them!

Yarrow

Latin Name: Achillea millefolium

Common Names: Soldier's Woundwort, Milfoil, Nosebleed

Family: Asteraceae, formerly Compositae

Part Used: Herb (aerial parts)

Energy and Flavors: Warm bitter, spicy

Systems affected: Lungs, liver

Properties: Diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, carminative, achilleine

Description:

This roughly 3 ft. tall plant grows widely across the Northern Hemisphere and is considered a native plant in most of North America."The leaves are alternate, 3-5 inches long, with many leaflets on each side of the midrib (1- pinnately lobed); and these are further divided into smaller leaflets, giving them a delicate, fernlike, lacy appearance. Flower heads are arranged in large, compact clusters at the top of the stem, each cluster consisting of 1 or more flower heads. The flower head has 20-25 yellowish-white (rarely pink) ray flowers and similarly colored disk flowers."*

Method & Dosage:

Yarrow has hemostatic properties, it works to stop bleeding. Both topical poultice and internal use are appropriate. In fact, yarrow seems to help the arteries to re-assimilate blood that has flowed out into tissues as a result of a torn vessel.

Yarrow is well known as a diaphoretic; it is specific for high fevers when the skin feels hot to the touch, dry, and constricted. Yarrow contains volatile oils which stimulate mucus membrane secretions in the respiratory mucosa. It can be helpful for irritated lung conditions.

Yarrow is an effective digestive tonic and has been used by indigenous peoples as such for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Its bitter components stimulate digestive secretions. Yarrow has astringent properties which can be useful as a treatment for diarrhea. It helps tone the digestive tract and reduce bleeding and sensitivity of the membranes. It can also be helpful as both an astringent and a hemostatic for the treatment of diverticulitis, colitis, and bleeding hemorrhoids.

**Contraindications: avoid internal use during pregnancy.**.

"Yarrow is used for a wide variety of common acute complaints. These include the treatment of the common cold, flu, fevers, hypertension, painful menstruation and bleeding. It is also applied externally with other herbs such as witch hazel, bayberry and oak bark as a suppository for the treatment of hemorrhoids.

Long associated as an herb for the battlefield, yarrow is considered a specific antihemorrhagic wound remedy. In fact, crushed or powdered yarrow can be applied topically or taken internally for any condition of acute bleeding, especially from cuts and abrasions (as opposed to arnica, which is better for sprains and strains)." -Michael Tierra, The Way of Herbs

The easiest way to identify yarrow from other types of similar flowers is by its leaf, which has a distinct fern-like appearance, but is much softer. We do want to caution you if you're not familiar with identifying yarrow in nature: it can be confused with poison hemlock due to a similar-looking flower. If you are not sure, DO NOT harvest the herb in question.

Here is a nice formula featuring Yarrow that can be helpful for hot & moist colds and flu situations:

Ingredients:

2.5 parts peppermint leaf

2.5 parts elder flowers

2 parts yarrow aerials

2 parts mullein leaf

1 part calendula flowers

Directions:

Steep in 32 ounces of near near-boiling water for at least 20 minutes and drink hot throughout the day.

You can find our organic Yarrow here:

https://store.moonriseherbs.com/products/yarrow-flowers-organic-1oz

And the wonderful book The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra is available here: