Wormwood (absinthe)
Artemisia absinthium
Botanical family: Asteraceae
A mugwort with very aromatic and bitter silvery-grey foliage, of dry ground. Rich in thujone, it has been traditionally used as a bitter tonic and vermifuge, a use today very tightly regulated.
Full sun
Dry, poor, well-drained
Low, a plant of dry ground that rots in wet soil
Very hardy
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A silvery, very bitter mugwort, traditionally planted as an edging (never in the heart of the crops) as a reputed repellent against certain insects. To be kept isolated: it is reputed to be allelopathic (like its cousin mugwort). No beneficial companion plant is documented, so the absence of a 'favourable' association is a choice, not an oversight.
Poor companions
Allelopathy, reputed or observed: may slow some neighbours
Seasons & availability
Flowering tops cut in summer; dried, they are available all year round.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- Plants For A Future, « Artemisia absinthium » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Artemisia+absinthium)
- Tela Botanica, « Artemisia absinthium L. » (tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-6753-description)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Thujone neurotoxic at high dose: short and supervised internal use only, formally not advised during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and in case of epilepsy.
In the kitchen & the apothecary
Where to find wormwood (absinthe) in preparations: recipes and traditional herbal teas.
Infusions & herbal teas
Family behaviour: Asteraceae
In general, Asteraceae are a family rich in flowers appreciated by pollinators and beneficials (pot marigold, yarrow, chamomile). It is very scattered, from the mildest lettuce to the allelopathic sunflower.
But this plant is an exception
An exception in its family: reputedly allelopathic, like mugwort, and very bitter. Keep it as an edging, never in the heart of the crops.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Early Christianity, the Apocalypse of John (Greek New Testament) · Eastern Mediterranean / Greek world (late 1st c.)
In the vision of the third angel, a great flaming star falls from the sky onto a third of the rivers and springs. This star bears the name 'Wormwood': a third of the waters then turns to wormwood, and many people die from having drunk these waters become bitter. Wormwood is there the image of punishment and of the poisoning of the waters, bitterness as a sentence.
Nouveau Testament, Apocalypse (Révélation) de Jean 8:10-11 (texte grec : ἄψινθος / apsinthos). Occurrence unique du mot dans le NT ; identification par l'article encyclopédique Wormwood (Bible), Wikipedia.
The Greek apsinthos designates first bitterness, not a precise species: nothing in the text allows it to be identified with Artemisia absinthium rather than another bitter wormwood. The reading 'the star Wormwood = such an event/heavenly body' belongs to modern interpretation, not to the ancient text.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: dry, poor, well-drained.
- • Keep away from: Young sowings (reputed allelopathic effect).