Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch.Bip.
Botanical family: Asteraceae
Also called 'partenelle', a perennial with bitter aromatic foliage and small white flowers with a yellow heart, a medicinal plant of tradition.
Full sun
Ordinary, well-drained
Moderate, prefers moist, humus-rich soil
Hardy (short-lived perennial that self-seeds)
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A perennial with small daisy-like flowers that self-seeds readily, a pretty nectar-bearing flowering edging.
Companions
No companion planting is documented for this plant: no recommended neighbour, no neighbour to avoid.
Insects attracted or useful
Seasons & availability
Leaves and flowers in summer; dried leaves 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, « Tanacetum parthenium » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Tanacetum+parthenium)
- Missouri Botanical Garden, « Tanacetum parthenium » (plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277249)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
An Asteraceae: caution in case of allergy to composites. Not advised during pregnancy. Chewing fresh leaves can irritate the mouth (prefer them dried).
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.
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.
Plutarch (Greek biographer, 1st–2nd c. AD), Life of Pericles; Greco-Latin botanical nomenclature (Dioscorides, then Pliny the Elder) · Classical Athens (story set in the 5th c. BC); Latin nomenclature of the 1st c. AD
The species name parthenium comes from the Greek parthenion, related to parthenos, 'young girl, virgin': from long ago, the plant was tied to female disorders by the Greco-Latin botanical tradition (Dioscorides; Pliny, Natural History, XXII, 20). A persistent legend links it to the building site of the Acropolis under Pericles. What Plutarch attests (Life of Pericles, 13) is thinner: a workman fallen from a height was, he says, healed after Athena appeared in a dream to Pericles, who dedicated a statue of Athena Hygieia, but the biographer names no plant. The identification of this herb with feverfew, like the attachment of the accident to the Parthenon rather than the neighbouring Propylaea, is a late reconstruction and not a fact of the account.
Plutarque, Vie de Périclès, 13 (récit du songe et de la guérison, sans plante nommée) ; nom parthénion : Dioscoride, puis Pline l'Ancien, Histoire naturelle, XXII, 20 (Ier s. apr. J.-C.)
Fact and legend: the story of the dream and the healing is attested in Plutarch, but it mentions no plant; the attribution to feverfew is a modern reconstruction, not presented here as ancient. A topographical detail: the workman's fall is traditionally tied to the building site of the Propylaea, not the Parthenon, both belong to the same Periclean programme of the Acropolis, but 'the Parthenon site' remains an approximation. The etymology (parthenion / parthenos) and the traditional 'female' use are reported as facts of language and history, without any medicinal claim: these ancient uses do not amount to a health indication.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: ordinary, well-drained.