Artemisia - Mugwort, Sagebrush, Sagewort

Family: Asteracea (Sunflower/Aster)

Essential Oil Various (Depending on Species)

Artemisia absinthium

Artemisia campestris

Artemisia dracunculus

"Annual to shrub, generally aromatic. Leaf: entire to +/- lobed, glabrous to densely hairy; hairs glandular (resin-filled) or T-shaped, hollow. Inflorescence: heads discoid or disciform, in spike-, raceme-, or generally panicle-like clusters; involucre ovoid to hemispheric, generally concealing flowers; phyllaries in 1-several series, persistent, margins scarious; receptacle hemispheric to conic, generally epaleate, generally glabrous. Pistillate flower: 0-many; corolla generally <= 2 mm, tubular, rarely short ray-like extension present. Disk flower: 3-many, generally bisexual, sometimes staminate (ovary vestigial, style branches remaining erect or style unbranched, tip expanded, tack-shaped); corolla <= 2.5 mm, +/- pale yellow, tube < throat, lobes short-triangular; anther tip acute-ovate to awl-shaped; style tips flat, truncate, hair-fringed. Fruit: < 2 mm, obovoid or fusiform, sometimes ribbed, glabrous, hairy, or resin-gland-dotted; pappus generally 0 or minute crown.
+/- 400 species: especially northern hemisphere. (Greek: Artemis, goddess of the hunt, noted herbalist, Queen of Anatolia) [Shultz 2006 FNANM 19:503-534; Shultz 2009 Syst Bot Monogr 89:1-131] Reports of Artemisia campestris L. subsp. pacifica (Nutt.) H.M. Hall & Clem. for California unconfirmed. Artemisia arbuscula var. thermopola Beetle not in California. Artemisia absinthium L. often cultivated, may persist, perhaps naturalizing in northeastern California. Recent studies place Sphaeromeria in the Artemisia clade (Garcia et al. 2011 Amer J Bot)." ^[Jepson]

Local Species;

1. Artemisia absinthium - wormwood ^[E-flora]
2. Artemisia biennis - biennial wormwood ^[E-flora]
3. Artemisia borealis ssp borealis - boreal wormwood ^[E-flora]
4. Artemisia campestris - northern wormwood ^{[E-flora][TSFTK]}
   • Artemisia campestris subsp pacifica - Pacific wormwood ^{[E-flora][PCBC][TSFTK]}
5. Artemisia dracunculus - Tarragon ^[TSFTK]
6. Artemisia norvegica - mountain sagewort ^{[E-flora][TSFTK]}
• ssp. saxatilis ^[PCBC]
7. Artemisia suksdorfii - Suksdorf's mugwort ^{[E-flora][PCBC]}
8. Artemisia tilesii - Aleutian mugwort ^[E-flora]
9. Artemisia vulgaris - common mugwort ^[E-flora]

Artemisia biennis - biennial wormwood

• Habitat/Range: "disturbed areas, waste area around wool-combing mills; rare, native of the w. United States." ^{[Weakley FSMAS]}
• Phytochemicals
  • Seed; Oil (petroleum ether), % on dry wt: 28.0 ^[LLCEOPS]
• Activities
  • "Lopes-Lutz et al. [45] investigated the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of A. absinthium EO, together with those of other Artemisia species growing wild in the prairies of central Alberta in western Canada, including Artemisia biennis Willd., Artemisia cana Pursh, A. dracunculus, Artemisia frigida Willd., Artemisia longifolia Nutt, and Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. All oils had inhibitory effects against E. coli, MRSA, and S. epidermidis, with the most active being the oil of A. absinthium. This oil was characterized by high amounts of myrcene, transthujone, and trans-sabinyl acetate." ^{[Rai FMDR]}

Artemisia campestris - northern wormwood

• Habitat/Range: Artemisia campestris dominates in sand dune communities along the north Greek coasts. This taxon has also been found to dominate in inland grassland communities in Northwest Greece, in the area around Lakes Vegoritida and Petron. The substrate of this area is calcareous and the soil is shallow and detrital. ^{[Ivanova PFHD]}
• Like several of the other Artemisia species, this one has been broken up into a number of subspecies (Kartesz 1994). Moerman (1998) lists four subspecies of A. campestris that have been used by North American tribes. ^{[Daniel F. Austin]} "Low, sprawling plants found on backshores of sandy beaches (or at least near salt water) in the Puget Sound region, the San Juan Islands, and adjacent areas... appear to be closest to subsp. caudata in their habit of growth but differ in certain respects from specimens of subsp. caudata from the central and E United States. Plants from the open coast of Oreg., Wash., and Brit. Col. have been referred to subsp. pacifica; those from along the Columbia River have been called subsp. wormskioldii; those from the Cascades and mountains farther E perhaps fit best into subsp. borealis." ^{[Kozloff PWO]}
• Uses:
  • "The Blackfoot used the herbs to help tan hides, and the Lakota used them as body perfume. The Navajo used the seeds in a food." ^{[Daniel F. Austin]}
  • "In the eastern United States, the Menomini used this herb in a medicine to control menstruation. They also used it with Angelica for a poultice to relieve pain" (Hocking 1997). ^{[Daniel F. Austin]}
  • "The Meskwaki made a medicine of it for burns." ^{[Daniel F. Austin]}
  • "Farther west on the plains, the Lakota made medicines that were diuretic, laxative, and sedative." ^{[Daniel F. Austin]}
  • "The Blackfoot used it for abortions in difficult pregnancies, applied it to rheumatic parts, to remove scalp infections, for eczema and sore eyes, and for stomach trouble and coughs." ^{[Daniel F. Austin]}
  • Aerial Parts: Anti-poison, skin ailments ^{[Rai EthPlants]}
  • " Leaves chewed by Blackfoot runners" ^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}
    
• Phytochemicals:
• Homoeriodictyol ^{[EncycTCMV.3]}
• (S)-Sakuranetin ^{[EncycTCMV.4]}
• Rhamnocitrin (Aerial Parts) ^{[Andersen FCBA]}
• Rhamnazin (Aerial Parts) ^{[Andersen FCBA]}
• Isorhynchospermin (Aerial Parts of Artemisia campestris spp. glutinosa) ^{[Andersen FCBA]}
• Chrysin (Aerial Parts of Artemisia campestris spp. glutinosa) ^{[Andersen FCBA]}
• Scopoletin - Coumarin ( Aerial parts of Artemisia campestris L. subsp. maritima) ^{[Rauter NPNM]}
• "Artemisia campestris L. subsp. maritima Arcangeli was collected in the beach sands near Aveiro in June 1996 and immediately submitted to hydrodestillation for three hours, yielding a pale yellow oil (0.2% yield, based on fresh weigh). The GC-MS analysis of this oil allowed the detection of 38 terpenic compounds... The most abundant compounds of this oil are p-pinene (17.8%) and cadin-4-en-7-01 (16.4%) (Silvestre et aI., 1999)." ^{[Rauter NPNM]}
  
• Essential Oil:
  • Content, % on air dry wt: 0.028-0.07 [2]; 0.5 [3] ^[LLCEOPS]
  • Composition, %: a-Pinene - 4.0; b-pinene - 21.0; 1,8-cineole - 7.8; (-)-thujone - 4.0; thujyl alcohol - 15.0; geraniol - 13.0 [3]
  • Activity: Essential oil has bacteriostatical property [3]. ^[LLCEOPS]
  • var. A. Marschalliana; Content, %: 0.06; 0.14 [1]; Content, % on fresh wt: 0.04-0.16 [2] ^[LLCEOPS]
  • var. A. sosnovskyi; Content, %: 0.06; 0.14 [1]; Content, % on fresh wt: 0.04-0.16 [2] ^[LLCEOPS]
  • var. A. steveniana; Essential oil, % on dry wt: 0.07-0.11 ^[LLCEOPS]
    
• Activities:
  • Experiemental Antidote to Tetrodotoxin: "Interestingly, numerous traditional herbal medicines are used to treat many cases of TTX [Tetrodotoxin] poisoning. Artemisia campestris, a medicinal plant often included in a variety of traditional medicine applications (as antibacterial and antifungal; for radical scavenging, gastric disturbances, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, hypertension, rheumatism, envenomation, etc.), was also tried in rats with a good result (Saoudi et al. 2010)." ^[CTAPA]
  • The leaves are used as an antidabetic in North African herbal medicine. ^{[Kuete MPRA]}.
• Insect Host Plant:
  • Fuhrer (1961) made comparisons of the small arthropod fauna in the rhizospheres of three plant species, Artemisia campestris, Bromus erectus, and Dactylis glomerata, and found that the mite Pseudotritia ardua occurred in large numbers in the root region of Artemisia but was absent from the rhizosphere of the other plants. Further tests showed attraction of the mite to areas of high activity of Pseudomonas strains. ^{[Curl Rhizo]}
    

Artemisia norvegica

• Used for treating diabetes ^{[Ramzan PESR]}

Artemisia tilesii - "Ledeb. (sagebrush).

• A clear, brown tea made from dried foliage boiled in water is taken for arthritis. Liquid from boiled leaves is also used as a skin wash to relieve sores, rashes, and insect bites and as a foot soak. Fresh leaves are put into the bottom of shoes to soothe sore feet." "Artemisia tilesii has been used extensively for medicinal purposes by indigenous peoples in Alaska for many years.... Some Fort Yukon residents knew of its medicinal properties, but few had used it in recent years."^{[Holloway&Alexander,1990]}
• Combinations: "The whole plant [Fireweed - Epilobium angustifolium] including the root can be cut up, mixed with petroleum jelly and stinkweed (Artemisia tilesii) leaves to make a poultice for treating boils. It should be left on for two days." ^{[Jernigan EYK]}
• Tobacco Additive: "Formerly this plant was occasionally dried and pulverized to mix with a quid of chewing tobacco." ^{[Oswalt Eskimo]}
• Respiratory Aid/Skin Wash/Dermatological Aid: "The whole plant can be put in a pot of boiling water, and a person with respiratory problems can inhale the vapor in order to sweat and to open up the lungs.... Stinkweed can be put into your home washbasin for skin cleansing properties.... The leaves can also be dampened and placed on surgery scars at night when one goes to bed, to help them heal." ^{[Jernigan EYK]} The plant, harvested in summer, can be dried, "...shredded and applied as a poultice to a skin infection; After one application the infection will disappear." ^{[Oswalt Eskimo]}
• Tonic/Stomachic: "One elder recommended boiling the plant for twenty minutes, or until the color becomes quite dark, letting it sit overnight, straining it and drinking a half a cup in the morning and evening as a general tonic for good health.... The whole plant minus the roots can be boiled in water as a tea for treating stomach problems." ^{[Jernigan EYK]}
• Fragrance: "Since this plant has a strong pleasant smell, it is useful for cleaning one’s hands..." ^{[Jernigan EYK]} "Leaves used for tea and flavoring for chewing tobacco by Alaska Eskimo; leaves cooked in dogfood by some Tanaina of Alaska; widely known as medicinal tea" ^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}
• "Artemisia tilesii is a highly variable species that has been divided into several subspecies, varieties or races by different botanists, but is now considered by most to be all within a broadly circumcised single species." ^{[Jernigan EYK]}
• Caution: "Elders warn that this medicine may have harmful effects if combined with pharmaceutical drugs." ^{[Jernigan EYK]}
• Harvesting: " The new shoots can be picked in the spring, or the mature plant are typically gathered from late August to October. Some elders believe that plants with flowers are more potent than younger ones. Some people warned that the fresh green plant is too strong for internal use and recommended gathering it to make internal preparations only after the first frost. In general, there is no complete agreement over exactly when and how to gather the plant. The dried plants can be stored for a year without losing their properties." ^{[Jernigan EYK]}
  

Artemisia suksdorfii

• Phytochemicals
  • 7-Hydroxymyrthenal ^{[Kuete MPRA]}
    

Artemisia vulgaris - common mugwort

"According to Matt. and Tab. people suffering from gout of the feet should were to eat the Artemisia vulgaris L. roots (Mugwort). The flowers boiled up in white wine were to be applied to painful joint in soaked clothes (Tab.)."^{[Adams et al.,2009]}

Uses of Related Sp.

• Artemisia Sp.; "...reported as being used for poultices in northern coastal Alaska, and it is also taken for colds (Anderson, 1939, p. 716)." ^{[Oswalt Eskimo]}
• "Fu., Matt. and Tab. recommended boiling the seeds of Artemisia abrotanum L. (Southernwood) in wine or water (Fu. wrote that the flowers could also be used) and to drink the broth or rub it on painful joints." ^{[Adams et al.,2009]}

Antimalarial:

• "It is also Novartis – in collabortaion with the world health organisation (WHO) – that produces and distributes Coartem® (Riamet®) a front line antimalarial drug. Coartem is derived from quinghausu (artemisinin) a sesquiterpene peroxide first isolated from the TCM herb Artemisia annua L. by Chinese scientists in 1971 (see White, 2008)."^{[Adams et al.,2009]}
• the interest in species of the genus Artemisia L. greatly increased since the discovery of artemisinine, obtained from A. annua, and its successful clinical trials as an antimalarial drug (Butler & Wu, 1992). ^{[Rauter NPNM]}

Molluscicide:

• We have shown that vulgarone B, isolated from the steam distillate of the aerial parts of the plant Artemisia douglasiana (Asteraceae), is active toward the ram's horn snail (Planobdella trivolvis) with an LC₅₀ of ca 24 μM [31]. The snails showed severe hemolysis associated with lethality when treated with vulgarone B. Channel catfish toxicity studies indicate an LC₅₀ of ca 207 μM. Thus, vulgarone B may be an environmentally acceptable alternative for snail control in aquaculture when applied within the margin of safety [31]. ^[Pest]

References

• Holloway&Alexander,1990 - Ethnobotany of the Fort Yukon Region, Alaska. Patricia S. Holloway and Ginny Alexander, Economic Botany, 44(2), 1990, pp. 214-225
• [Jepson]2013. Artemisia, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=324, accessed on Jan 20 2015
• [Pest] Phytochemicals for Pest Management: Current Advances and Future Opportunities, Stephen O. Duke , Scott R. Baerson, Charles L. Cantrell, David E. Wedge, Kumudini M. Meepagala, Zhiqiang Pan, Agnes M. Rimando1, Kevin K. Schrader, Nurhayat Tabanca, Daniel K. Owens and Franck E. Dayan, Natural Products Utilization Research, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 38677 University, MS, USA.
• Amédée Masclef, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Journals of Interest

• Adams et al.,2009 - Adams, Michael, et al. "Medicinal herbs for the treatment of rheumatic disorders—a survey of European herbals from the 16th and 17th century." Journal of ethnopharmacology 121.3 (2009): 343-359.
• Overfield, Theresa, William W. Epstein, and Larry A. Gaudioso 1980 Eskimo Uses of Artemisia tilesii (Compositae). Economic Botany 34(2):97-100.
• El-Ghazouly M. G., Omar A A (1984) Flavonoid constituents of Artemisia campestris. Fitoterapia 55:115.
• Wang, Y., Toyota, M., Krause, F., Hamburger, M., & Hostettmann, K. (1990). Polyacetylenes from Artemisia borealis and their biological activities. Phytochemistry, 29, 3101-3105.