Artemisia Absinthium L.
Family: Compositae
English: Wormwood
This perennial, shrubby, much-branched plant, with an exceedingly bitter taste, was dedicated to goddess Artemis (Diana), hence its name. The plant grows from 2 to 4 feet in height; the shoots are silvery white with fine silky hairs. The flower clusters along the stem consist of numerous small, insignificant, drooping, yellow heads. The plant has an aromatic odor that infuses the Greek countryside from July to August. Tops and leaves are gathered in midsummer, dried and used in medicine even today.
This is the "Apsinthion" of Dioscurides; the plant that Thracians used to make the "apsinthos wine", a type of healing wine. In antiquity the dried and pestled leaves of Absinthus were used as emmenagogue and in the healing of wounds.
Up until the beginning of the previous century people extracted a volatile oil from the bitter leaves and flowers of Artemisia absinthium (the "Absinth") to produce a kind of liquor that stimulates the appetite.
Artemisia absinthium decoctions, very bitter to taste, should be taken in caution. It stimulates liver and bile function and facilitates digestion. Being an emmenagogue, it is not commended for pregnant women.
Popular Greek names:
"Apithia", Apsithia", "Melitini", "Goats beard", "Pelinos", "Trahouri", "Apistia".
