What is yarrow good for?
Hey everybody! I just harvested some yarrow from our yard where it grows like a weed! I plan on drying ti and I've made tea with it before and liked the flavor, but does anyone know it's properties and what its good for? Thanks in advance!
P.S. I'm really interested in home medicine these days, I'm about to start the MAKING HERBAL MEDICINE honors lab course!
Comments
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The main thing is for stopping bleeding. http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/a/achillea-millefolium=yarrow.php
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The root is one of the ingredients I use in the flea powder I make. I believe it soothes the skin.
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@COWLOVINGIRL Yarrow is good for so many things. Vulnerary. Styptic. Anti-inflammatory. Anti-microbial. Antispasmodic. Diaphoretic. Digestive. Appetite Stimulant. Cholagogue.
Yarrow is considered a bitter so can be used when making bitters. You could use the root which is a bit stronger and/or use the leaves and flowers. So good for digestion. A tea will also help with digestion. As a cholagogue, yarrow assists with the production of bile, improving digestion. The flower is the least bitter part so if you are adding it to tea blends or just on its own, just use the flowers, as this will make a more pleasant tea for general consumption. The antispasmodic properties will help with cramping associated with digestive issues. It has been used as a hop substitute when making beer because of the bitterness. In Sweden it is referred to as "Field Hops".
Leaves and flowers can be used fresh to make compresses and poultices for wounds and injuries and to help stop bleeding and relieve pain. I have used yarrow in the field, crushed up fresh, and put on minor bleeds. You can dry and powder yarrow and apply the dried powder to minor wounds. You can infuse yarrow into oil and use it for salves, balms or ointments to assist with inflammation and bruising or for wounds that have closed over. A strong decoction can be used to treat hemorrhoids. I'd use it in a sitz bath for that purpose.
Yarrow is useful in a sitz bath following parturition. Also, a good herb to use as a tea following a miscarriage.
Yarrow is a diaphoretic so very useful for fevers. I'd use it as a tea for this purpose. It combines very well with elderflowers and peppermint for colds & flus. This is a very well known, commonly used herbal remedy for colds & flus.
You can tincture yarrow. I know of one case where it was given internally following surgery to stop "weeping" of the capillaries at the surgical site. The tincture could be used as, or added to, a skin wash around a wound. A tea can be used as a skin wash as well if you don't have a tincture. Susun Weed suggests the tincture can be used as an oral disinfectant or for toothaches.
Fresh yarrow makes a good rub for mosquitoes but it must be applied frequently. A tincture could be added to recipes for bug dope. You can burn yarrow for a smudge for bugs.
You can make a flower essence with yarrow. It is for people who are empathetic and find they are easily drained when dealing with the trauma of others. Also a good essence to add to blends for PTSD.
Yarrow has a high thujone content so shouldn't be consumed in quantities on a regular/long-term basis. People with ragweed allergies, should avoid yarrow as it is a member of the Asteraceae family.
Congratulations on starting the Making Herbal Medicine course! Have you done the Home Medicine 101, Wildcrafting & Foraging or the Herbal Energetics? TGN has done a good job on these courses and the 4 of them together make an excellent starter program. If you are interested in any other training resources when you have completed these, feel free to PM me.
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Doctor Jones says that it's good for menstrual cramps.
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My husband had some internal bleeding. He took some yarrow tablets and the bleeding stopped. It works!
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I had first hand experience with it's power to stop bleeding. About a week ago I was cutting a lime and my knife slipped. I was using a bit of force so when it hit my left thumb on top of the last joint it went to the bone. It also cut some blood vessels so it was taking a lot of pressure to slow it. I called out for my daughter to bring me the yarrow I had dried (just the leaves). I packed some on and continued with the pressure. In less than five minutes the bleeding had all but stopped. Now dry yarrow going into the cut wasn't pleasant as it was kind of sharp but I would do it again if I need it. I left the yarrow on and in the cut and had my daughter put crossing steri strip type things on it to hold it in place. I was not concerned about leaving the yarrow on/in the wound because it is also antiseptic. After three days the strips came off in the shower. The wound was closed except at the very surface but it was holding together. There were no signs of infection, in fact it wasn't red or irritated at all. After that day I've been using an ointment I made with infused calendula and comfrey oil, bees wax and an essential oil blend. I've used it before and it really helps reduce scarring. Without the yarrow I'm sure it would still be a mess but it has healed up with full range of motion in the joint. It is still a bit sensitive to pressure but that's coming from where the knife hit the bone - bone takes a bit longer to heal but the ointment with comfrey should speed that process up. I've cut myself a lot lol, but it has never healed as fast as this one with these results. SOLD!!!
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The blood clotting is from Vitamin K as it is the protein our bodies use to make our blood clot (and there is some in Yarrow). According to Doc Jones avoid Yarrow if pregnant as it can cause miscarriage. I hope this helps.
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This is all so cool! I had no idea!
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@COWLOVINGIRL It’s amazing 😊
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i have been harvesting and drying yarrow flowers from our field. Now I need to decide the best ways to store and make use of them. Anyone have a favorite recipe? I guess I should start the herbal medicine course too. :)
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@MelissaLynne Yes, by all means, do the Home Medicine 101 course as well as the Making Herbal Medicines course, Herbal Energetics and Wildcrafting & Foraging. These 4 courses are a great place to start and you will get all kinds of good ideas for using your harvest.
You could make an infused oil and use it in a salve on its own or as part of a combination. You can tincture it. It is always good to have some on hand dried to make infusions and decoctions. This is a link for a yarrow bitters: https://www.ediblecommunities.com/recipes/double-yarrow-bitters/
You can harvest the leaves and dry them along with the flowers.
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I dry yarrow and grind it into a powder to stop bleeding. It's great for when you accidentally cut a dogs nails too short and they bleed. It stops it immediately!
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I had no idea! Putting it on the to grow list 😊!
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I had heard it would be good for arthritis. I decided to make a tea. I eat a lot of strange stuff for the health factor. The tea was so horrible I have yet to try it again.
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Yarrow is indeed one of those amazingly useful herbs and the best thing is that it is so incredibly easy to grow! Its found growing wild over most of the US and Europe and isn't picky about the soil. it handles full sun to some shade. Cultivated varieties found in nurseries offer a selection of color flowers-- red, yellow, and white. Here in Tx I've only ever seen the white flowers in the field. A must-have for the garden/landscape. Butterflies love them, too!
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COOL! fivelawrences! I am interested to know how you grind it to powder? I have a bunch already dryed!
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I feel ya! I just had some yarrow tea last night and I decided to maybe use it for something else other than tea!!!!!
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Yarrow is best used as a medicinal tea. Not one for regular tea drinking. It is a bitter! And I don't need anything to help me sweat. I do a lot of that anyway. :)
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Yarrow flowers make a wonderful tea and are excellent for calming allergies and hayfever
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I do this to for my herbal first aid kit! I just throw it in the (cleaned) coffee grinder. (or if you have an arrangement for a blender which grinds nuts /herbs)
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I can't say that I have ever actually tried drinking Yarrow tea, but when I'm out camping I will make some Yarrow tea and dampen a wash cloth to wash my face and arms. Very pleasant feeling and it is supposed to be somewhat bug repellent.
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Need to try the dried Yarrow powder for my husband who is on blood thinners, and will often start bleeding for no reason at all.
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I have trouble getting it to grow. Gonna try and winter sow it this year and put it in my front yard instead.
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Welcome to TGN @marjstratton and @carrie449!
I have never tried to seed yarrow but it may be one of those seeds that benefits from the cold in the winter. Stratification.
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Yarrow seems to spread easily, and I am often surprised at where it plants itself, starting up new colonies at whim. Try digging up a piece of a well-established colony and transplanting it in a fairly sunny spot to propagate. I have grown it from seed, but they took a LONG time to germinate in the garden. I like root division better!
The question, "What is it good for?" reveals a lot about our attitude toward plants, doesn't it? I understand that we are referring to what its gifts are for humans. However this way of thinking can be a trap, thinking that the plant is only of value if it has some specific quality that we need or desire. As we see from @torey 's post, there are often MANY things the plant is "good" for!!
Here are a few uses I have not heard mentioned yet:
Yarrow makes a long-lasting, beautiful cut flower. Add to a vase with other early summer blooms.
Yarrow IS a good insect repellant: I often use prunings of it strewn amongst plants that are susceptible to insect damage OR browsing from animals. If you use homemade bug sprays, see what results you get by adding yarrow to the mix....
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WAY TO GO Nancy A.Maurelli! I totally agree with you!
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I have heard that yarrow root can also be used for dental pain similar to the uses of clove.
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I like to use yarrow as a pretty garden plant, dried and ground in a blend for a carpet/flea powder, have on hand (dried) as a wound wash/soak as needed, and made into a tincture and blended with other herbs for a cold and flu blend.
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As mentioned, yarrow is good.for.wound care, tinctures, teas, baths; it is quite pretty in dried arrangements, as well as fresh (and long.ago was used to.repel.bugs when the departed lay in state for.periods of mourning). Yarrow is also used (most often, after it has dried) as a healing aromatic in saunas
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Thank you for this discussion. I love yarrow. I use it as a spice when cooking meat. I dry and powder young blossoms with top leaves and put into my herbal salt;
I use dried blossoms for my digestion tea alongside with dill seeds, caraway seeds, tarragon... I mix it into a tea for women suffering from heavy and prolonged periods;
In early spring I collect young leaves and put them into salad or on bread and butter... I always use yarrow leaves for herbal butter.
Actually it is one of my favourite herbs. I collect a lot to have a good supply at hand.
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