Artemisia vulgaris

Also: maiden herb, lady's herb, goose weed,

Wild wormwood, midsummer belt, broom weed, fly weed.

Description:

Mugwort belongs to the daisy family and is a perennial plant. It grows up to 2 m high, but is still rather inconspicuous. The stem is hard and has many branches. Its leaves are bipinnate, dark green on top and whitish and tomentose on the underside. The flowers are small and gray-yellow.

It grows on roadsides, on rubble, in quarries, on roads.

The usable part is the branch tips with closed flowers.

The upper leaves and the fully bloomed plant are very bitter.

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Harvest time is from July to September.

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Offer forms:

Bouquet (contains twig tips, closed buds, leaves)

• rubbed

• ground

• fresh rather seldom (likes to grow on roadsides)

Ingredients:

The plant contains tannins, bitter substances, essential oils from the phytochemicals, cineole

Taste & smell:

It tastes spicy, reminiscent of juniper, but can also taste slightly bitter.

Cooking and kitchen use

Processing:

The flavor of the herb only develops through heat,

therefore mugwort must be added at the beginning of the cooking time.

He is generally used for heavy,  used fatty or flatulent foods.

Use within dietetics:

It stimulates the secretion of stomach & bile juice,

through which  fat and heavy dishes become more digestible.

Its bitter substances also promote digestion.

As a strengthening tea, it has an antispasmodic and diuretic effect.

It is suitable for all types of diet.