Yarrow: Common flower, healing herb
Achillea millefolium, also known as common yarrow, is a popular native plant found throughout the Southwest in both wild and tamed landscapes, and blooming from summer to midfall. Well-suited for the region’s hot summers and dry climate, yarrow likes to spread out and will do so quickly, covering hillsides, roadsides and flowerbeds alike if left to its own devices. It is the perfect plant for empty spots that get a lot of sun and does best in well-drained soil, although sometimes it will nestle into areas near streams and waterbeds.
Yarrow is a perennial herb, although it may not look like one. Its rhizomes produce hairy, branched, fibrous stems that are covered in fern-like, deep green leaves that lead up to disks of dozens of miniature florets. It is typically white, though it is known to also come in pale pink. While yarrow looks like a delicate flower, it is actually quite hardy and can survive Northern New Mexico’s freezing winter temperatures and
strong winds.
A native of Europe and the temperate areas of Asia and North America, there are more than 85 species of yarrow, but the kind that is native to New Mexico is Achillea millefolium. A member of the Aster family, A. millefolium should not be confused with other cultivated varieties of yarrow that come in brighter colors like gold, red and deep pink.
Despite its name, yarrow is anything but common and has a centuries-old background that tells a story. Like most plants, yarrow goes by numerous, and often humorous, nicknames based on its uses. Named after Achilles, the Greek mythological war hero, the plant was reputedly used as an astringent to stop his soldiers from bleeding during the battle of Troy. Millefolium is Latin for “a thousand leaves,” which has been shortened to “milfoil,” one of the plant’s nicknames. Other monikers include “old man pepper,” “soldier’s woundwort,” “devil’s nettle,” “arrowroot,” “nosebleed plant” and, in New Mexico, “plumajillo” — Spanish for “little feather,” describing its pungent, delicately plume-shaped leaves.
Yarrow plays many roles in and out of the garden. A pollinator-friendly plant, it attracts butterflies, beetles, wasps, bees and hoverflies that love its sweet nectar. Yarrow also is used as a companion plant where good pests like wasps use the bad pests as food for their larvae. Outside of the garden, yarrow has long been considered a multipurpose herb used medicinally by ayurveda and Chinese medicine as well as by Native American tribes. In New Mexico, curanderos have long heralded yarrow’s benefits: It is considered an antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial, antihistamine and analgesic.
Santa Fe herbal practitioner Leonard Gomez agrees that this herb has plenty of purposes and believes every garden should have some. An avid forager and hiker of the Pecos Wilderness, Gomez always takes yarrow powder in his emergency kit, adding, “I have made a tea for digestive problems, chewed the leaves for toothaches, and even created a combination of usnea [lichen], yarrow and yerba mansa for cuts. It is really that good.”
And yarrow’s uses don’t stop there. It is even used as an ingredient in beer-making. Modern brewers have rediscovered the allure of ancient botanicals such as yarrow that give beer a unique flavor. In Europe, yarrow beer has been popular since the Middle Ages. Swedish master botanist Carl Linnaeus was very fond of the herbal beer and believed it delivered a headier brew and stronger intoxication compared to hops.
If you are planting an herb or restorative garden or just want a pretty native plant that will fill in an empty space nicely, why not try planting some yarrow? The pollinators will be thankful and, who knows, this beneficial plant could even save your life.
Yarrow can be found in Santa Fe garden centers, including Agua Fria Nursery, Plants of the Southwest, Payne’s Nurseries and Newman’s Nursery.
Carole Langrall has been in the floriculture industry, from international wholesale and retail sales to event planning, for more than 20 years. She has floral studios in Santa Fe and Baltimore, was a Santa Fe Master Gardener, and supports local/national flower farms and beautification projects. She is available for demonstrations and lectures. Contact her at clangrall@gmail.com or visit flowerspy.com.