Artemisia Absinthiumis the botanical and Latin name for the plant Common Wormwood. The name “Artemisia” comes from the Greek Goddess Artemis, daughter of Zeus and Apollo’s twin sister. Artemis was the goddess of forests and hills, of the hunt and also a protector of children. It was thought to be link between Artemis and the moon. The word “Absinthium” is referred to the bitter taste of wormwood.
The herb, oil and seeds known as Wormwood are from the Common Wormwood plant, a perennial herb which often grows in rocky areas and on arid ground in Asia, North Africa and the Mediterranean. People found it growing in parts of North America also. Common wormwood is also known as armoise, green ginger and grande wormwood.
Wormwood plants appear beautiful with their tiny yellow flowers and silver gray leaves. One can get Wormwood oil from the tiny glands on the leaves. Tarragon, sagebrush, sweet wormwood, Levant wormwood, silver king artemisia, Roman wormwood and southernwood are other types of plants of the Artemisia family. The Artemisia plants belongs to the Aster plant family.
There are various uses of wormwood as a herbal medicine
– A woman can feel relieved during labor pains.
– It can also be used to counterbalance the poisoning from toadstools and hemlock.
– As an antiseptic.
– The problems related to digestion is solved by it. Wormwood may be used in solving the problems of stomach acid.
– It acts as a cardiac stimulant in pharmaceuticals.
– One can stop fevers with the help of it.
– It can be beneficial in removing intestinal worms.
– Taken as an elixir.
There is research claiming that wormwood may be effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease and Crohn’s disease.
Effects of Artemisia Absinthium
Wormwood is a key ingredient in the liquor Absinthe, the Green Fairy, which was banned in many countries in the early 1900s. Absinthe is named after this herb which also gives the drink its characteristic bitter taste,
Absinthe was banned because of its alleged psychedelic effects. People thought that the problems of hallucinations and madness occurred by it. Absinthe was also related to the Bohemian culture of Parisian Montmartre.
The THC in the drug cannabis and the thujone in wormwood are said to be the same. The amount of thujone is so small in Absinthe that it cannot harm a person unless drunk in very large quantity!
There is no harm in drinking Absinthe but one should be carefull while consuming it because it is about twice as strong as other drinks.
An Absinthe without Artemisia Absinthium is not the real Absinthe. A lot of manufacturers make “fake” Absinthes using other herbs and flavorings. If you want the real thing you must check that they contain thujone or Common Wormwood or use essences,such as those from AbsintheKit.One can visit AbsintheKit.com to make his own Absinthe containing Artemisia Absinthium.