| Achillea ageratum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conservation status | |
| LC | |
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 | |
| |
Achillea ageratum, also known as sweet yarrow, sweet-Nancy, English mace, or sweet maudlin, 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. 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.
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. The leaves can be chopped and used raw as a herb, or added with other herbs to soups and stews. Modern uses of the herb include its use as a flavouring, as a dried flower, and as an ornamental herb.
The species was first given a species name by Carl Linnaeus and published in his Species Plantarum 1753. Achillea is a reference to the Greek hero Achilles, who was trained to use herbs by his mentor, the centaur Chiron. The flowers last for a relatively long period, hence the inclusion of ageratum in the species name.
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.
References
- ^ "Achillea ageratum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- NRCS. "Achillea ageratum". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ Linford 2011, p. 12.
- ^ Quincy 1794, p. 32.
- "Achillea ageratum L." Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- Bailey & Bailey 1976, p. 17.
- Farrell 2019, p. 24.
Sources
- 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
- 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.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Achillea ageratum |
|
.jpg){kind=small} | This Anthemideae article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |