Description
Artemisia scoparia
Also known as Virgate or Capillary Wormwood, this is a fast growing fragrant herb with a wide distribution across North Africa, temperate and tropical Asia, and through most of Europe.
Artemisia species are known for the powerful chemical constituents in their essential oils – substances such as terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, caffeoylquinic acids,and sterols which have been extracted for medicinal and other uses such as insecticides, antimalarials, cytotoxins, antihepatotoxic, fungicides, antibacterials, and allelochemicals.
The aerial parts od Redstem Wormwood yield a volatile essential oil with insecticidal, antibacterial, anticholesterolemic, antipyretic, antiseptic, cholagogue, diuretic, purgative, and vasodilatory activities. It is an important herb in Chinese medicine, where it is known as Yin-chen, and is used for draining dampness, and in the treatment of jaundice, hepatitis and inflammation of the gall bladder. It is said to inhibit staphylococcus and streptococcus and potentially deserves more attention in treating staph infections. The cooked leaves can be eaten as a herb.
Easy to grow in a well-drained neutral or slightly alkaline loamy soil, preferring a warm sunny dry position and actually enjoying extremes of hot and cold temperatures. Established plants are drought tolerant and very frost hardy. Artemisia scoparia has a variable life-cycle that can be annual, biennial or perennial. The plant produces much-branched stems that can grow 40 – 90cm tall, exceptionally to 130cm. Artemisias tend to be longer lived, more hardy and more aromatic when they are grown in a poor dry soil.
Certified Organic plant in 9cm pot.
Freight: We can send up to 9 plants this size (in 9cm pots) for the same freight price or they can be combined with other grades but this will incur higher freight costs.