Wild, this county
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Wound herb and fever sweat. A little bitter tea goes a long way.
Not in pregnancy. Aster-family allergy (ragweed) may cross. Do not drink cup after cup — it is medicine, not a beverage.
- Part used
- Flowering tops and leaves
- Gather
- June–September on dry roadsides and old pastures. Feathery aromatic leaves, flat white (sometimes pink) flower plates.
- Tea
- 1 tsp dried tops in a cup, 10 minutes. Hot, to start a sweat at the onset of a cold.
- Tincture
- Fresh 1:2 or dry 1:5 in 80–100 proof, 4 weeks. A dropper on a clean cut as a wash.
- Other
- Chew a clean leaf and pack a shallow bleed — it is astringent. Not a tourniquet.
Recipes
Yarrow tincture
Fever sweat on the inside, wound wash on the outside.
Plantain (or self-heal) poultice
Chew or mash a clean leaf. Tape it on. The oldest first-aid in the yard.