Description: Yarrow is a perennial plant found all over the world in waste places, fields, pastures, meadows, and along railroad embankments and roadsides. The light-brown, creeping rootstock produces a round, smooth, pithy stem that branches near the top and may be glabrous or hairy. The alternate leaves are linear- lanceolate in outline and are pinnately divided into many small segments, the leaflets themselves sharply cleft. The flower heads have white rays and yellow (turning to brown) disks and are arranged in convex or flat compound corymbs.
Properties and Uses: Antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, di- aphoretic, hemostatic, tonic. Milfoil tea has a long history of use for lack of appetite, stomach cramps, flatulence, gastritis, enteritis, gallbladder and liver problems, and internal hemorrhage, particularly in the lungs. It appears to be especially effective in stimulating the flow of bile. Fresh milfoil juice acts as a general tonic and prophylactic by building up the blood. At the same time, it is good for various forms of internal bleeding, as evidenced by nosebleed, coughing or spitting blood, rectal or hemorrhoidal bleeding, bloody urine, and excessive menstrual flow. It can also be taken internally or used as a douche for leucorrhea. The decoction makes a good wash for all kinds of wounds and sores, for chapped hands, and (as may be needed) for sore nipples.
CAUTION: Extended use of milfoil may make the skin sensitive to light.
