A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
975 entries
yarrow
Yarrow is a tough perennial of grassland, verge, and lawn with flat-topped heads of small white or pink flowers and finely divided feathery leaves that smell sharply aromatic when crushed. It has a deep root system and survives drought and mowing, which is why it persists in a burned-out lawn when the grass has given up.
Etymology
The word is Old English with relatives across the Germanic languages, which is a fair indication of how long the plant has been useful. The Latin genus name is the interesting half: Achillea, for Achilles, who was said to have carried it to treat his soldiers’ wounds at Troy. Its English folk names run the same way: soldier’s woundwort, staunchweed, and nosebleed.
Notes
The wound reputation is unusually well founded for a plant of this vintage, and yarrow does contain compounds that reduce bleeding and inflammation.