Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthum)  Plant Info:
Wormwood is a perennial plant or shrubby plant found all over the world. It has deeply-incised leaves and small yellow flowers. Literally and somewhat metaphorically, wormwood often grows in waste places. The leaves are bitter-tasting, and so the word wormwood is also defined as a description of something grievous and bitter.
Historically, this herb has been utilized for a variety of purposes. Wormwood has been used as a medicinal herb, as a vermifuge (an agent that dispels intestinal worms), as a protection against the plague, as a deterrent for vermin (especially fleas), and as the star ingredient in the infamous drink of absinthe, to name a few. The compound thujone, found in wormwood, was believed to give Absinthe it's toxicity and was responsible in part for its psychedelic effect, often described as a heightened state of mind. Modern studies using historical recipes and distillation techniques suggest that thujone levels in properly distilled absinthe was low.
There are two species of wormwood that produces thujone, they are Artemisia absinthium "Common Wormwood", and Artemesia pontica "Roman Wormwood".
Wormwood is available to buy here | Mythology:
The tradition is that this plant sprang up in the track of the serpent as it writhed along the ground when driven out of Paradise. In Russia, wormwood was effective against the green-haired Rusalki, female water spirits who in spring would leave their watery bodies and walk in the woods. In the region of Saratov, Rusalki were frightening creatures ill-disposed towards humans and eager to use their sharp claws. If you had to go into the woods when the Rusalki were about, you were advised to carry a handful a wormwood, which they could not stand. |