The Wonder of Wormwood

I remember growing up in a garden that always had an Artemisia Afra (Wilde Als) and an Artemisia Absinthium (Groen Amara) better known as Wormwood.

My father believed in the healing qualities of this plant and man and beast was treated with the tea made from the bitter plant. I am not sure if the sick stopped complaining about their ailments to avoid another sip from this bitter cup or if they really got cured.

Dried Artemisia

Well I can vouch for the healing powers of the fine green leaves of the Wilde Als and the grey green leaves of the Groen Amara and as more than an inherited tradition I always grow them in my garden. I have helped many a sick dog and weak lamb back to health with the bitter tea from these plants.

Wishing to be more organic, I started to investigate alternative pesticides and discovered the wide variety of applications for this abundant herb. As a companion plant it can keep your cabbage free from cabbage moth and fruit trees free from fruit tree moth.

Wormwood is one of the best known medicinal herbs and has been used for hundreds of years by the indigenous people of Southern Africa.

Wormwood has an antiseptic, vermifuge (anti-worm) and narcotic effect and is used to relieve pain and for treating fevers, worms, constipation, coughs, sore throats, flu and jaundice. It also restores the appetite, aids digestion, cures diarrhoea and dysentery. (Source: Margaret Roberts' A-Z Herbs)

I have problems with fish-moth and the thought of them eating my book collection worries me to no end. Not liking the smell of Mothballs I had to find another more eco-friendly solution. That is when I came across the advice to put Wormwood into sachets and place it among the books to deter the fish-moth.

Wormwood Sachets

On Saturday I harvested the dried Wormwood that I hung from the ceiling of the garden shed and packed them in the silk sachets I bought in town. I enjoyed stuffing the dried aromatic herb in the bags making the kitchen smell like a herbal shop.

After filling the bags I placed them in the book cases behind the books and I am sure my collection of books on herbs gave a nod of approval.

My Arsenal of Silk and Wormwood

I eased my worries about ferocious fish-moth with wormwood but it would have helped to see them scurrying away from the books with panic in their eyes.

My books are now safe but I worry that they will eat the silk sachets. Maybe I should start looking for a remedy.