About Artemisia vulgaris L.
Artemisia vulgaris L., commonly known as mugwort, is an aromatic, herbaceous, perennial plant reaching 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in height. It spreads through vegetative expansion and anthropogenic dispersal of root rhizome fragments. In temperate regions, mugwort rarely reproduces from seeds, as plants produce few seeds that are capable of germinating. Ploughing mugwort into soil cannot easily control it, because when soil is disturbed, rhizome sections move away from the parent plant, which increases the number of new plants. Mugwort has angular purple-looking stems. Pinnate leaves are dark green, smooth, and glabrous on the upper surface, with dense whitish tomentose hairs on the underside. Leaf lobes are approximately 2.5–8 mm (0.098–0.315 in) wide. New leaves are opposite, rounded, lack lobes, have a woolly underside, and attach to the stem with a thin, long petiole. Flowering occurs from July through September (midsummer to early autumn), producing yellow or reddish flower heads arranged in a paniculate branching structure. Flower heads are 5 mm (3⁄16 in) long and radially symmetrical. In each capitulum, outer flowers are female and inner flowers are bisexual. The fruit is brown, rectangular, single-seeded, ridged, with a narrow base and tiny bristles at the end. The root system consists of numerous horizontal branched rhizomes that produce adventitious roots. Up to 20 new stems can grow from a single root system. The main brown woody root is about 200 mm (7.9 in) long, with 51–102 mm (2.0–4.0 in) long rootlets that are approximately 2 mm (0.079 in) thick. In A Modern Herbal, first published in 1931, Margaret Grieve described mugwort's taste as "sweetish and acrid". Contact with the plant, or consuming beverages made from it, is thought to cause dermatitis. Artemisia vulgaris is native to temperate Europe, Asia, North Africa, and Alaska, and is naturalized in North America, where some people consider it an invasive weed. It is common in low-nitrogen soil locations, including waste places, roadsides, and uncultivated areas. Mugwort prefers alkaline conditions and readily establishes in open, sandy ground. It reproduces mainly from rhizomes. Several Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, such as Ostrinia scapulalis, feed on mugwort's leaves and flowers. Mugwort may be susceptible to attack by honey fungus. In the Middle Ages, mugwort was called Cingulum Sancti Johannis, because it was believed that John the Baptist, a 1st century preacher, wore a girdle made of the plant. According to Grieve, mugwort was thought to protect travellers from exhaustion, heatstroke, and wild animals; people wore it on St. John's Eve to gain protection from evil spirits. Before hops were introduced to beer-making, mugwort was commonly used as a flavouring agent in England. Dried mugwort flowers were added to malt liquor, which was then added to beer. Mugwort was one of the traditional flavouring and bittering agents for gruit ales, a type of unhopped fermented grain beverage. Today, mugwort is used as an aromatic culinary herb in Vietnam and Germany. In China, the crunchy stalks of young mugwort shoots are a seasonal vegetable commonly used in stir fries. In Nepal, the plant is offered to gods, used to cleanse environments by sweeping floors or hanging bundles outside the home, burned as incense, and used as a medicinal plant. Dried leaves can be smoked or brewed into tea to promote lucid dreaming. This reported oneirogenic effect is attributed to the thujone the plant contains. Historically in the Middle Ages, A. vulgaris was called the "mother of herbs" and was widely used in traditional Chinese, European, and Hindu medicine. It is said to have a wide range of reported pharmacological properties, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antispasmolytic, antinociceptive, antibacterial, antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic, and antifungal properties.
