Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Family: Asteraceae Part used: Flowering tops and leaves

Key Compounds

• Achillin
• Achillicin
• Azulene
• Camphor
• Chamazulene
• Luteolin
• Apigenin
• Rutin
• Quercetin
• Chlorogenic acid
• Achilleine
• Betaine
• Salicylic acid
• Cineole
• Borneol

Traditional Use

• Wound healing and haemostasis — used as primary wound herb across European, Chinese, and Native American traditions continuously from antiquity; clinical basis: achilleine (alkaloid) reduces clotting time in animal studies; tannins produce astringent haemostatic effect; anti-inflammatory sesquiterpene lactones reduce wound inflammation; the Trojan War connection in the species name reflects genuine ancient use, not mythology
• Diaphoretic fever management — traditional use for promoting perspiration during fever; warm yarrow tea causes vasodilation at the skin surface, increasing heat loss; 19th century Eclectic physicians used it for 'hot and dry' fevers requiring diaphoresis; this is one of the most consistent uses across traditions
• Digestive bitter tonic — the sesquiterpene lactones (achillin, achillicin) are responsible for the bitter taste and stimulate digestive secretion; approved in German Commission E monograph for 'loss of appetite and mild gastrointestinal spasms'; the bitter compounds are in the same family of bitters as dandelion and chamomile
• Traditional Chinese divination — 蓍草 (shī cǎo) yarrow stalks are the classical tool for casting the I Ching (易經); 50 yarrow stalks are manipulated through a counting procedure to generate the hexagram pattern; this use is at least 3,000 years old; the oracle bones period (1600–1050 BCE) records divination using yarrow, predating the written I Ching
• Menstrual regulation — traditional European use for heavy menstrual bleeding (emmenagogue) and also, paradoxically, to stimulate delayed menstruation; the apparent contradiction reflects the herb's regulating effect on uterine muscle tone; this is an old use in European, Chinese, and Native American traditions
• I Ching casting tradition — classical Chinese divination practice uses 50 dried yarrow stalks; the counting procedure generates trigrams and hexagrams; coin divination replaced yarrow in most modern practice but traditional I Ching practitioners still use yarrow as the authentic method

The genus name is Achillea.

The species was named after a man who eventually died from an arrow wound.

Achilles of Greek mythology reportedly learned yarrow’s wound-healing properties from the centaur Chiron and used it to treat his soldiers at Troy. The mythological attribution reflects genuine ancient observation: yarrow stops bleeding from surface wounds with some reliability. The Greeks named their most effective wound herb after their greatest warrior. The warrior himself was later killed by an arrow through his heel — the one spot where the wound herb could not help him.

The plant has been used as a wound remedy continuously ever since.

Meet the plant

A perennial herb, 20–100 cm tall, instantly recognisable. The leaves are finely dissected into dozens of tiny segments — millefolium, thousand leaves — giving the plant a feathery appearance unlike most plants in its family. The flowers form flat-topped white or pale pink clusters. The whole plant smells camphor-like and slightly bitter when crushed.

It grows in lawns, fields, roadsides, and disturbed ground on every inhabited continent. It is one of the most widely distributed flowering plants on earth.

The wound herb that outlasted every army

Yarrow’s wound-healing use crosses every boundary of culture, time, and tradition.

Ancient Greeks used it. Roman soldiers carried it. Cherokee, Ojibwe, and dozens of other Native American peoples used it for wounds. Medieval European herbals list it. The Civil War surgeons used it on battlefields when nothing else was available. The plant kept being useful to people who needed something that would stop bleeding.

The pharmacological basis is now established. Achilleine (an alkaloid specific to yarrow) reduces clotting time in animal models. Astringent tannins dry and tighten wound tissue. Azulene and chamazulene — the blue-green compounds that form when the dried plant is steam-distilled — have anti-inflammatory activity that reduces wound inflammation. The combination of haemostasis and anti-inflammation in one plant explains the consistent traditional preference.

The plant was doing what it was observed to do. The mechanism was not known. It did not need to be.

The I Ching connection

In China, a related species — 蓍草 (shī cǎo, Achillea alpina) — has been used for I Ching divination for at least 3,000 years.

The classical method requires 50 dried yarrow stalks. One is set aside. The remaining 49 are divided, counted, and sorted in a specific procedure repeated three times to generate one line of a six-line hexagram. Six complete repetitions produce a hexagram from the I Ching’s 64 possible patterns. The procedure is mathematically precise, generating the four possible line types with specific probability distributions.

Most modern I Ching practice has replaced yarrow with coins — three coins thrown six times. This is faster. Traditional practitioners consider it a degraded substitute. The coin method generates different probability distributions than yarrow and is a recent substitution in a 3,000-year tradition. Traditional teachers use yarrow.

The plant is simultaneously a wound herb and an oracle tool. This says something about how extensively it was used in the ancient world.

The chemistry: three mechanisms in one plant

Haemostatic alkaloids: Achilleine reduces clotting time in animal studies. This is the specific pharmacological mechanism for the wound-staunching reputation.

Astringent tannins: Produce immediate tissue tightening on contact. Relevant for topical wound application and also for the digestive toning effect.

Bitter sesquiterpene lactones: Achillin and achillicin stimulate digestive secretion (the same mechanism as chamomile and dandelion bitters). German Commission E approved yarrow for appetite loss and mild gastrointestinal spasm.

Diaphoretic volatiles: Camphor, cineole, and borneol promote perspiration. Warm yarrow tea causes vasodilation at the skin surface, increasing heat loss — the mechanism for traditional fever management.

What people actually do with it

Topical wound herb (primary traditional use): Fresh or dried leaves applied directly to cuts, grazes, and nosebleeds. Fresh leaves can be chewed and applied as a paste. Dried herb infused in oil or water for compresses. This is the most direct and historically supported application.

Warm tea (for fever): 1–2 teaspoons dried aerial parts, steeped 10 minutes. Drink hot to promote perspiration. 2–3 cups during fever. The warmth of the tea matters — cold yarrow tea does not produce the same diaphoretic effect.

Digestive bitter (for appetite and digestion): Small amount of dried herb (less than for fever use) in tea before meals. German Commission E approved for this use. The bitter taste should be noticeable.

Tincture: 1–4 mL, 3–4 times daily. Used for menstrual irregularity (heavy bleeding or delayed periods), digestive support, or as a systemic anti-inflammatory.

Essential oil (topical only): Contains chamazulene and azulene — anti-inflammatory; used in skin care formulations.

Could you grow this yourself?

Yarrow grows in almost any soil with full sun. It spreads by both rhizome and seed, and in good conditions can become aggressive in a garden bed. Plant it in a location where spreading is acceptable, or divide regularly.

Harvest flowering tops just before full bloom for highest sesquiterpene lactone content. Dry quickly at low temperature, out of direct sun.

Yarrow is likely already growing in any unmaintained area near you.

Yarrow (ノコギリソウ) in Japan

ノコギリソウ (A. millefolium) grows throughout Japan — on roadsides, in fields, in mountain meadows. The name means ‘saw-plant’, referring to the serrated leaflet edges.

Japanese traditional medicine does not have a major independent tradition around yarrow comparable to its use in European or Chinese herbalism. In folk medicine, topical application for minor wounds is recorded. The Chinese I Ching divination connection is understood — 蓍草 use is part of Japanese I Ching (ekikyō, 易経) scholarship.

In contemporary supplement retail, yarrow appears as a less prominent herb compared to chamomile or calendula. Its wound-healing reputation is the primary recognition point for Japanese consumers.

The plant blooms in Japanese meadows from May to October. It is simply there, across the country, performing the function it has always performed.

Things you’re probably wondering

Is the Achilles story real? The historical Achilles did not exist. The wound-healing use is real — documented for at least 3,000 years across multiple independent traditions. The Greeks attributed it to their greatest warrior because it was genuinely their most reliable wound herb.

How do you use yarrow stalks for I Ching? 50 dried stalks, one set aside, 49 divided and counted three times per hexagram line, six lines per hexagram. The counting procedure generates specific probability distributions. It takes about 20 minutes per hexagram. Most people use coins instead.

Why does it both stop bleeding and start it? Different mechanisms, different applications. Topical: achilleine and tannins haemostatically act on wound tissue. Systemic: antispasmodic compounds regulate uterine muscle tone — both releasing delayed menstruation and toning heavy flow. These are not contradictory when the mechanism is understood.

Does it actually work on wounds? Achilleine reduces clotting time in animal studies. Tannins produce haemostatic astringent effect. Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes reduce wound inflammation. The mechanistic basis for the traditional use is established.

Botanical details

The full compound list

See Also

• Chamomile — another Asteraceae wound herb and digestive bitter; gentler and better studied
• Calendula — wound-healing herb with similar applications
• Nettle — traditional companion in spring foraging; both grow in disturbed ground

References

• Moradi, M.T. et al. (2013). Achillea millefolium in traditional medicine. Journal of HerbMed Pharmacology, 2(2), 45–49.
• Tadić, V.M. et al. (2017). Anti-inflammatory wound healing activity of Achillea millefolium. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 8, 293.
• Kastner, U. et al. (1993). Isolation of achilleine. Phytochemistry, 34(1), 165–167.
• Chevallier, A. (1996). The Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley.