Biology:Achillea ageratum
| Achillea ageratum | |
|---|---|
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LC[1]
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Achillea |
| Species: | A. ageratum
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| Binomial name | |
| Achillea ageratum | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Achillea ageratum, also known as sweet yarrow,[2] sweet-Nancy,[3] English mace,[4] or sweet maudlin,[5] is a flowering plant in the sunflower family. It is native to southern Europe and Morocco.[6] In the United States the plant is cultivated in the state of New York for its pleasant fragrance and sparingly naturalized in a few places outside its native range.[1][7]
In the Middle Ages it was used as a strewing herb to repel insects such as moths, lice and ticks and spread a good smell in private rooms.[8] The leaves can be chopped and used raw as a herb, or added with other herbs to soups and stews.[9] Modern uses of the herb include its use as a flavouring, as a dried flower, and as an ornamental herb.[4]
The species was first given a species name by Carl Linnaeus and published in his Species Plantarum 1753.[1] Achillea is a reference to the Greek hero Achilles, who was trained to use herbs by his mentor, the centaur Chiron.[4] The flowers last for a relatively long period, hence the inclusion of ageratum in the species name.[5]
The plant grows to a height of 12 to 18 inches (300 to 460 mm). A hardy perennial, it can be identified by its narrow and serrated leaves, and clusters of small flowers.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Achillea ageratum L.". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:173792-1.
- ↑ (xls) BSBI List 2007, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, https://bsbi.org/download/3542/, retrieved 17 October 2014
- ↑ "Achillea ageratum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ACAG3. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Linford 2011, p. 32.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Quincy 1794, p. 32.
- ↑ "Achillea ageratum L.". Catalogue of Life. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/64GRK.
- ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- ↑ Bailey & Bailey 1976, p. 17.
- ↑ Farrell 2019, p. 24.
Sources
- Bailey, Liberty Hyde; Bailey, Ethel Zoe (1976). Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-00250-5-470-7. https://archive.org/details/hortusthirdconci00bail/page/n7/mode/2up.
- Farrell, Holly (2019). The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Herbs. London: White Lion Publishing. ISBN 978-07112-3-936-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=PH-ADwAAQBAJ.
- Linford, Jenny (2011). The Ultimate Guide to Herbs. Bath, UK: Parragon Books. ISBN 978-14454-5-392-7. https://archive.org/details/ultimateguideher0000parr/page/n32/mode/2up.
- Quincy, John (1794). Lexicon physico-medicum (11th ed.). London: T. Longman. OCLC 1048314313. https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_lexicon-physico-medicum_quincy-john_1794/page/n43/mode/1up?view=theater.
Further reading
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Achillea ageratum. |
- McVicar, Jekka (1995). Herbs for the Home: A Definitive Sourcebook to Growing and Using Herbs. New York: Viking Studio Books. ISBN 978-06708-6-352-5. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780670863525/page/11/mode/2up?q=%22Achillea+ageratum%22.
Wikidata ☰ Q285796 entry
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