Artemisia alba or White wormwood, which you can also see as common wormwood, belongs to the complex flowering plants and is a semi-shrub plant that finds many uses in herbal medicine. It can be found anywhere in Bulgaria, but at no more than 1,600 meters above sea level.

In Bulgaria it grows everywhere and is considered nothing more than a weed. However, it will be useful to know that wormwood is not only a bitter weed, but also a useful plant popular among modern doctors.

It has a pronounced bitter taste and a very strong aroma, and because of its pleasant appearance and especially because of its beautiful yellowish flowers, it is also grown in many gardens. You can even grow it on your balcony.

Essential oils, tinctures and extracts are obtained from wormwood. They are rubbed into the skin in the form of powder and hung in rooms to ward off harmful insects and evil spirits.

Tarragon is one of the types of wormwood and drinks are made from it. You can also eat it fresh (for example in a salad).

Teas and decoctions are prepared from it, usually the proportion is 1 tsp. white wormwood to 400-500 ml of water. An infusion is made, which, after standing for 20 minutes, is ready for use. In order to stimulate the appetite, it is taken before meals. It is interesting to add that because of the soothing effect it has on the activity of the stomach, white wormwood was once widely used against seasickness.

Today, we already have modern medications that have pushed it out of the sight of those suffering from such problems.

The plant's Latin name is Artemisia absinthium L. It refers to the Greek goddess of hunting and women's crafts, Artemis (in Roman mythology she was known as Diana).

According to legend, Artemis used a potion of wormwood when she gave birth to the inhabitants of Olympus.

The doctors of Ancient Greece prescribed a decoction of wormwood for many ailments.

The winner of the chariot race, for example, was necessarily given a cup of wormwood potion to always remember: the sweetness of triumph is certainly associated with bitterness.

Hippocrates wrote enthusiastically about the truly magical healing properties of wormwood after his trip to the Black Sea.

And after one and a half thousand years, another famous healer, Avicenna, classified all the characteristics of the useful properties of the plant in his treatise "Canon of Medicine".

Wreaths of wormwood were worn on the head of the priestess of the loving and wise Isis, the goddess of fertility, motherhood and animal husbandry.

The Romans added plant powder to wine to enhance its intoxicating qualities.

Daoists drank wormwood potion when they wanted to see the mysterious islands of immortality with beautiful maidens.

And there it was impossible to get sober (wormwood is known to cause hallucinations).

Official medicine, following folk medicine, willingly recognizes wormwood as a useful plant with pronounced properties: soothing, antiseptic, antiparasitic, and pain reliever.

The absinthe in the composition of the leaves of the plant is a naturally powerful immunomodulator.

It also has anti-inflammatory and disinfecting properties.

It is very useful to inhale the essential oil of wormwood for colds or as a preventive measure in the season of viruses and colds.

You can also make (very cautiously) an infusion from white wormwood, with which you gargle the oral cavity several times a day if you have bad breath.

You can also tie a few sprigs of dry white wormwood and place them in your closet because its strong scent (not very pleasant) repels moths.

The use of white wormwood should be approached very cautiously and especially with a doctor's or specialist’s prescription, because in large doses it is toxic.

Also be very very cautious as the White wormwood essential oil is poisonous.

Since ancient times, it has been customary to put wormwood under the pillow (or to fill small pillows with it along with other aromatic herbs).

In this way, children and adults fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

It is known that the aroma of wormwood calms patients during epileptic attacks, helps to relax during convulsions, stress and facilitates well-being in acute depressive states.

A mixture of wormwood with kefir allows you to get rid of joint pain.

To do this, grind the plant in a blender or meat grinder and mix in a 1:1 ratio with medium-fat kefir. Then moisten a bandage in the liquid and wrap around the problem joint. Wrap the top with foil and leave for a few hours. This compress can also be left overnight.

Another type of wormwood is also known - black wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris), which is traditionally used not only as a spice but also for wound healing and insomnia.

Another species is the so-called seaside santonic wormwood - Artemisia santonicum, which is the best anthelmintic.

For culinary purposes (to flavor dishes and pickles) the other species Artemisia uraouncmus - known as taros - is used.

Folk medicine recommends “paws” with it to soothe rheumatic pains.

Undoubtedly, the property of the other species - sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) that most attracts the attention of scientists and naturopaths is its ability to kill tumors and specifically those affecting the mammary glands.

This herb is claimed to cure the insidious disease in just a day when combined with shock doses of iron.

With this natural remedy, no intensive treatment lasting longer than a month is applied.

The appearance of atonic constipation is considered a side effect of its long-term use.

Other side effects are hallucinations, seizures, headache so once again, do not use it without a strict and precise recipe by a good herbal medical specialist.

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A.A.

Stob, Bulgaria