Herb. No. 127 · Asteraceae
Temperate roadside Artemisia of Eurasia, now a world weed of waste ground.
Native · Europe · West Asia · East Asia
Native Also grownNow a garden plant worldwide
LegalCautionplant
Mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris
The roadside Artemisia of dream pillows and roast goose — a bitter with a long folklore and a thujone limit.
Mugwort is the common temperate Artemisia: silvery-backed leaves, a roadside plant, a traditional bitter for fat meat and for the ‘dream’ folklore of a stuffed pillow. It is not wormwood, and it is not a daily tea. Thujone and a pregnancy caution keep this plate culinary-and-occasional. Moxa in East Asian practice is often a sister Artemisia (A. argyi), not this European weed.
Flavor
Camphor, sage, a little bitterness. A pinch with pork; a handful is a hedge.
Parts used
Leaf · Flowering tops
Helpful
- Grows whether you want it or not
- A true culinary bitter in small amounts
Cautions
- Thujone
- Pregnancy caution
- Asteraceae allergy