Contents

Achillea ageratum

Achillea ageratum
Conservation status
LC[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Achillea
Species:	A. ageratum
Binomial name
Achillea ageratum L.
Synonyms[1]
Achillea viscosa Lam. Conforata ageratum Fourr. Santolina ageratum Baill.

Achillea ageratum, also known as sweet yarrow,^[2] sweet-Nancy,^[3] English mace,^[4]orsweet maudlin,^[5] is a flowering plant in the sunflower family. it was originally native to Switzerland, before spreading across Europe (to Portugal, Spain, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Croatia and Romania), and Morocco.^[4][6] In the United States the plant is cultivated in the state of New York for its pleasant fragrance and sparingly naturalized in a few places outside its native range.^[1][7]

In the Middle Ages it was used as a strewing herb to repel insects such as moths, lice and ticks and spread a good smell in private rooms.^[8] The leaves can be chopped and used raw as a herb, or added with other herbs to soups and stews.^[9] Modern uses of the herb include its use as a flavouring, as a dried flower, and as an ornamental herb.^[4]

The species was first given a species name by Carl Linnaeus and published in his Species Plantarum 1753.^[1] Achillea is a reference to the Greek hero Achilles, who was trained to used herbs by his mentor, the centaur Chiron.^[4] The flowers last for a relatively long period, hence the inclusion of ageratum in the species name.^[5]

The plant grows to a height of 12 to 18 inches (300 to 460 mm). A hardy perennial, it can be identified by its narrow and serrated leaves, and clusters of small, cream-coloured flowers.^[4]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Bailey, Liberty Hyde; Bailey, Ethel Zoe (1976). Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-00250-5-470-7.
• Farrell, Holly (2019). The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Herbs. London: White Lion Publishing. ISBN 978-07112-3-936-4.
• Linford, Jenny (2011). The Ultimate Guide to Herbs. Bath, UK: Parragon Books. ISBN 978-14454-5-392-7.
• Quincy, John (1794). Lexicon physico-medicum (11th ed.). London: T. Longman. OCLC 1048314313.

Further reading[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Achillea ageratum.

• McVicar, Jekka (1995). Herbs for the Home: A Definitive Sourcebook to Growing and Using Herbs. New York: Viking Studio Books. ISBN 978-06708-6-352-5.

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