Artemisia (plant): Difference between revisions

Artemisia
	Artemisia abrotanum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Anthemideae
Genus:	Artemisia; L., 1753
Type species
	Artemisia vulgaris L.;
Species
	See text

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File:Wormwood.png

Artemisia absinthium (Absinthe Wormwood) leaves and flowers

File:Artemisia.mauiensis1web.jpg

Artemisia mauiensis (Maui Wormwood)

Artemisia (Template:Pron-en)^[1] is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200 to 400 species belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae. It comprises hardy herbs and shrubs known for their volatile oils. They grow in temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, usually in dry or semi-dry habitats. The fern-like leaves of many species are covered with white hairs. Some botanists split the genus into several genera, but DNA analysis^[2] does not support the maintenance of the genera Crossostephium, Filifolium, Neopallasia, Seriphidium, and Sphaeromeria; three other segregate genera Stilnolepis, Elachanthemum, and Kaschgaria are maintained by this evidence.

Common names used for several species include wormwood, mugwort, sagebrush and sagewort, while a few species have unique names, notably Tarragon (A. dracunculus) and Southernwood (A. abrotanum). Occasionally some of the species are called sages, causing confusion with the Salvia sages in the family Lamiaceae.

Most species have strong aromas and bitter tastes from terpenoids and sesquiterpene lactones, which exists as an adaptation to discourage herbivory.^[3] The small flowers are wind-pollinated.^[3]

Artemisia species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species. See List of Lepidoptera that feed on Artemisia.

Cultivation and uses

The aromatic leaves of many species of Artemisia are medicinal, and some are used for flavouring. Most species have an extremely bitter taste. A. dracunculus (Tarragon) is widely used as a herb, particularly important in French cuisine.

Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) was used to repel fleas and moths, and in brewing (wormwood beer, wormwood wine). The aperitif vermouth (derived from the German word Wermut, "wormwood") is a wine flavored with aromatic herbs, but originally with wormwood. The highly potent spirits absinthe and Malört also contain wormwood. Polish vodka Zoladkowa Gorzka is flavoured with wormwood. Wormwood has been used medicinally as a tonic, stomachic, febrifuge and anthelmintic.

Some have taken dried Wormwood, placed it inside a coffee filter to form a sort of "pod" and then placed them under furniture and such as a natural way of repelling fleas from their home.

Artemisia arborescens (Tree Wormwood, or Sheeba in Arabic) is a very bitter herb indigenous to the Middle East that is used in tea, usually with Mentha also known as mint. In small quantities (in tea) its believed to have medicinal properties, pacifying various kinds of digestion turmoils. In larger doses it may have some hallucinogenic properties. In Israel Artemisia is sometimes referred to by the name "Shiva", the Queen of Sheba.

Within such religious practices as Wicca, both Wormwood and Mugwort are believed to have multiple effects on the psychic abilities of the practitioner. Because of the power believed to be inherent in certain herbs of the genus Artemisia, many believers cultivate the plants in a "moon garden".

The beliefs surrounding this genus are founded upon the strong association between the herbs of the genus Artemisia and the moon goddess Artemis, who is believed to hold these powers.

It is also said that the genus Artemisia (which includes over 400 plants) may be named after an ancient botanist. Artemisia was the wife and sister of the Greek/Persian King Mausolus from the name of whose tomb we get the word mausoleum. Artemisia, who ruled for three years after the king's death, was a botanist and medical researcher, and died in 350 B.C.^[4]^[5].

The bitterness of the plant led to its use by wet-nurses for weaning infants from the breast, as in this speech by Shakespeare from Romeo and Juliet Act I, Scene 3:

Nurse: ...

And she [Juliet] was wean'd,–I never shall forget it, –

Of all the days of the year, upon that day:

For I had then laid wormwood to my dug,

...

A few species are grown as ornamental plants, the fine-textured ones used for clipped bordering. All grow best in free-draining sandy soil, unfertilized, and in full sun.

Artemisinin (from Sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua) is the active ingredient in the anti-malarial combination therapy Coartem produced by Novartis and the World Health Organization.

Artemisia in popular culture

Artemisia has been mentioned and used in popular culture for centuries. As few examples are listed below.

In the Roald Dahl novel Matilda and its 1996 movie adaptation, Matilda's last name is Wormwood.
Shakespeare often refers to wormwood in Hamlet.
Wormwood (Apsinthos in the Greek text) is the "name of the star" in the Book of Revelation (8:11) (kai to onoma tou asteros legetai ho Apsinthos) that John the Evangelist envisions as cast by the angel and falling into the waters, making them undrinkably bitter. Outside the Book of Revelation, there are up to eight further references in the Bible, showing that wormwood was a common herb of the era and that its awful taste was known, as a drinkable preparation applied for specific reasons.
Wormwood is a junior devil in The Screwtape Letters, a novel by C. S. Lewis on human temptation.
Miss Wormwood is the name of Calvin's teacher in Calvin and Hobbes, a former daily comic strip by Bill Watterson. This character is named after the Screwtape Letters character.
In Russian culture, the fact that Artemisia species are commonly used in medicine, and their bitter taste is associated with medicinal effects, has caused wormwood to be seen as a symbol for a "bitter truth" that must be accepted by a deluded (often self-deluded) person. This symbol has acquired a particular poignancy in modern Russian poetry, which often deals with the loss of illusory beliefs in various ideologies.
Fort Collins, Colorado based New Belgium brewery produced a Spring Ale called "Springboard" containing Wormwood, Lycium. and Schisandra.
In a series of unfortunate events, there is a saying that "tea should be as bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword".
In Harry Potter, the Draught of Living Death, an extremely powerful sleeping potion, is made from powdered root of asphodel added to an infusion of wormwood.

Selected species

Classification

Classification of Artemisia is difficult.^[3] Pre-2000 divisions of Artemisia into subgenera or sections have not been backed up by molecular data,^[2] but much of the molecular data, as of 2006, is not especially strong.^[3] The following identified groups do not include all the species in the genus.

Section Tridentatae

Section Tridentatae consists of nine to eleven species of shrubs, which are very prominent parts of the flora in western North America.^[7] In some classifications they are part of the genus or subgenus Seriphidium, although they do not seem to be closely related to the Asian Seriphidium species.^[2] To be monophyletic, section Tridentatae should exclude Artemisia bigelovii and Artemisia palmeri.^[7]^[2]

Section Tridentatae includes above species with exception of Artemisia longiloba, which is treated as a subspecies of Artemisia arbuscula. Section Nebulae includes Artemisia californica, Artemisia nesiotica, and Artemisia filifolia (Shultz 2009) New reference: Shultz, L.M. 2009. Revision of Artemisia subgenus Tridentatae. Systematic Botany Monographs 89:1-131.

Old World Seriphidium

The Old World species which different classifications put into the genus or subgenus Seriphidium consist of about 125 species native to Europe and temperate Asia, with the largest number of species in Central Asia.^[8] Some classifications, such as that of the Flora of North America, exclude any New World plants from Seriphidium.^[3] They are herbaceous plants or small shrubs.^[8]

Subgenus Dracunculus

One group which is well-supported by molecular data is subgenus Dracunculus. It consists of 80 species found in both North America and Eurasia,^[3] of which the best-known is perhaps Artemisia dracunculus, the spice tarragon.

Notes

^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d L.E. Watson, 2002
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "119. Artemisia Linnaeus". Flora of North America. 2006.
^ Etymology
^ Etymology
^ "Artemisia australis". Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
^ ^a ^b Amy B. Kornkven; Linda E. Watson; James R. Estes; Amy B. Kornkven; Linda E. Watson; James R. Estes (1998). "Phylogenetic Analysis of Artemisia Section Tridentatae (Asteraceae) Based on Sequences from the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA". American Journal of Botany. 85 (12): 1787. doi:10.2307/2446513.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b "22. Seriphidium (Besser ex Hook.) Fourr". Flora of Pakistan.

References

Watson, L. E.; et al. (2002). "Molecular phylogeny of subtribe Artemisiinae (Asteraceae), including Artemisia and its allied and segregate genera". BioMed Central Evolutionary Biology. 2 (17). {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help) Available online.

External links

Germplasm Resources Information Network: Artemisia
Flora Europaea: Artemisia
Chinese Plant Names: Artemisia species list and Seriphidium species list
Flora of Pakistan: Artemisia and Seriphidium species list

[1] Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607

[watson-2] L.E. Watson, 2002

[fna-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "119. Artemisia Linnaeus". Flora of North America. 2006.

[4] Etymology

[5] Etymology

[uofhi-6] "Artemisia australis". Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 2009-03-06.

[kornkven-7] Amy B. Kornkven; Linda E. Watson; James R. Estes; Amy B. Kornkven; Linda E. Watson; James R. Estes (1998). "Phylogenetic Analysis of Artemisia Section Tridentatae (Asteraceae) Based on Sequences from the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA". American Journal of Botany. 85 (12): 1787. doi:10.2307/2446513.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[pakistan-8] "22. Seriphidium (Besser ex Hook.) Fourr". Flora of Pakistan.

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@@ Line 371: / Line 371: @@
 <font size=2>''[[Artemisia verlotiorum]]''</font> <font size=1>Lamotte</font>&ndash;<font size=2>Chinese Wormwood</font><br>
 <font size=2>''[[Artemisia viridis]]''</font> <font size=1>Willd.</font><br>
-<font size=2>''[[Artemisia vulgaris]]''</font> <font size=1>L.</font>&ndash;<font size=2>Mugwort</font>
+<font size=2>''[[Artemisia vulgaris]]''</font> <font size=1>L.</font>&ndash;<font size=2>Mugwort</font><br>
 <font size=2>''[[Artemisia wallichiana]]''</font> <font size=1>Besser</font><br>
 <font size=2>''[[Artemisia waltonii]]''</font> <font size=1>J.R.Drumm. ex Pamp.</font><br>