Flat-topped clusters of small white daisy-like heads above finely divided, feathery, aromatic leaves in lawn, verge and meadow
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium.
Nature · Wildflowers & flowers
Yarrow
Native · flowers Jun–Nov · lawns, verges, meadows and pastures
Achillea millefolium — Asteraceae
A tough, aromatic perennial with feathery leaves and flat-topped clusters of tiny white flower heads, found in almost any grassland from lawns to meadows. Its species name means 'thousand leaves' and its genus is named for Achilles, who legend says healed his soldiers' wounds with it. Centuries of folk use as a wound herb and charm have given it many country names.
How to spot them
- ▸Finely divided, dark green, feathery leaves, which give the name millefolium ('thousand leaves')
- ▸Flat-topped clusters of many small white flower heads, each with yellowish disc florets and pinky-white ray florets
- ▸Strong, aromatic smell when crushed; stems grooved and hairy; up to about 50 cm
- ▸Compare sneezewort, Achillea ptarmica, which has undivided, toothed leaves and larger, looser white heads, in wet ground
- ▸Umbellifers such as wild carrot have umbrella-like heads of many rays, not clustered daisy-like heads
How to know it
Its species name means 'thousand-leaved', and the genus is said to be named after the Greek hero who used it to heal wounds
Achillea millefolium — yarrow, said to have healed the soldiers of Achilles.
Once used as a charm against bad luck and illness, and to stop bleeding, though believed to cause nosebleeds if put up the nose
Yarrow (Wildlife Trusts).
A strongly scented perennial sown with native grasses to help return arable land to grassland
Yarrow.
Its dried stalks are traditionally used to cast the hexagrams of the I Ching, the Chinese divination classic
Yarrow stalks.
Sometimes known as 'soldier's woundwort' or 'nosebleed', it is a composite that looks like one flower but is a cluster of tiny heads
Yarrow.
Quick-fire facts
- •Family Asteraceae; millefolium means 'thousand leaves' and Achillea honours Achilles, said to have healed soldiers with it
- •The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust gives a flowering season of June to November and a height up to 50 cm
- •Each flat cluster is composed of many small flower heads with yellowish disc florets and pinky-white ray florets
- •Tolerates mowing and dry soil well, hence its presence in lawns and verges; it has been used to help restore arable land to grassland
- •Centuries ago it was used as a charm against bad luck and illness and to stop wounds bleeding, but it was also thought to cause nosebleeds if put up the nose
- •Yarrow stalks are used to cast the I Ching hexagrams in traditional Chinese divination
- •Cultivated varieties are garden favourites
Drill it — 6 cards
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Sources
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust — Yarrow