For Colds

Achillea millifolmum was/is used to treat colds by various American tribes in the following ways [24]:

The ABNAKI (decoction of whole plant), ALGONQUIN (infusion of the whole plant), CARRIER (decoction of whole plant aside from the roots), and CHEYENNE (infusion of the whole plant), CLALLAM (infusion of leaves), FLATHEAD (infusion of leaves), KLALLAM (decoction of leaves), MICMAC (decoction with milk), MIWOK (infusion of leaves and flowers), NITINAHT (decoction), OKANAGAN-COLVILLE (infusion of roots), PAIUTE (infusion/dried roots chewed), SAANICH (young leaves chewed and swallowed), THOMPSON (infusion of whole plant), YUKI (infusion of leaves and flowers), all used A. millefolium to treat colds.

As an Analgesic Medicine

Achillea millifolmum was/is used as a analgesic medicine by various American tribes in the following ways [24]:

ALGONQUIN (leaves crushed and used as a snuff for headaches; decoction used to treat headaches), BLACKFOOT (infusion externally applied to treat stomach flu), CHEYENNE (flower and leaf infusion used to treat chest pain), CHIPPEWA (leaves steamed and inhaled to treat headaches), CREE (flower infusion compress used to treat headaches), GOSIUTE (infusion used to treat headaches), HESQUIATE (leaves chewed to treat miscellaneous internal pain), IROQUOIS (poultice applied and plant chewed to relieve nerve pain), LUMMI (flower decoction used for body aches), MENDOCINO (leaf and flower infusion taken for headaches), MIWOK (plant used fresh or dried for miscellaneous pain), OKANAGAN-COLVILLE (plant infusion used for headaches), PAIUTE (old men smelled the plant to treat their headaches).

The ENGLISH used yarrow to relieve headache by placing a feathery leaf up one's nose to induce a nosebleed [21].

In MEXICO, yarrow is used in folk remedies to treat inflammation, respiratory illnesses, liver complaints, and diabetes [31].

In the BALKANS, yarrow has been traditionally used as a wound-healing plant [32].

In PAKISTAN, the juices and infusion of yarrow is widely used to aid digestion, heal wounds, mitigate ear/toothache pain, and to treat tuberculosis [33].

In western UKRAINE, yarrow has been used as a wound healer, treatment for dysentery, nosebleed stauncher, postpartum medicine, and pustule treatment (in ointment form) [34].

In ALBANIA, A. millifolmum is used primarily as a blood-clotting, and cholesterol lowering medicine [35].

In SERBIA, yarrow is used to treat stomach disorders/loss of appetite, coughs, cramps, and menstrual complains [36].

In TURKEY, the dried flowers are eaten by children for 4-days to combat stomach upset and diarrhea [37].

Pharmaceutical effects

Yarrow was on the official United States Pharmacopoeia roster from 1860 - 1880 for use as a stimulating tonic [20]. Areal parts of A. millefolium have yielded a novel (as of 2017) compound, dihydro-a-cyclogeranyl hexanoate, has shown antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial potential against Escherichia coli (E. coli) [28]. An ointment made of A. millefolium was shown to successfully treat bruising, swelling, and surgical wounds of women who recently gave birth for the first time in a double-blind clinical trial [29]. Compounds isolated from the flowers of A. millefolium have been shown to have tumor suppressing activity in in vitro/cancerous cell lines [30]. A hydroalcoholic extract of yarrow has exhibited in-vivo anti-diabetic effects in type-2 diabetic mice [31].

Magic

The English

Yarrow has been used in the divination rituals of the young and desperate to find their true loves for centuries. There are few a variations on the theme.

In one ritual, the loveless somebody picked yarrow that grew on the grave of a young member of the opposite sex while reciting the following incantation [9]:

"Yarrow, sweet Yarrow, the first that I have found,

In the name of Jesus Christ I pluck it from the ground;

As Jesus loved sweet Mary, and took her for His dear,

So in a dream this night, I hope my true love will appear."

When the lonely individual sauntered home- not speaking another word until the morning so-as to not ruin the incantation- she or he was to place the yarrow under their pillow at night in hopes of dreaming of his/her true love [9].

If the grave of a young man or woman with yarrow growing on it could not be found, another ritual was performed: within the first hour of dawn, the pining person was to pick yarrow- popping three springs inside of his/her shoe or glove- while reciting the following alternate incantation [9]:

"Good morning, good morning, good Yarrow,

And thrice good morning to thee;

Tell me, before this time to-morrow,

Who my true love is to be,"

Here are some additional lyrical variations on the aforementioned charms:

"Thou pretty herb of Venus' tree,

Thy true name it is yarrow;

Now who my bosom friend may be

Pray tell thou me to-morrow." [16]

and

"Good-night, fair yarrow,

Thrice good-night to thee,

I hope before to-morrow's dawn,

My true love I shall see." [16]

Double-flowered yarrow plants were once brought to weddings to ensure seven-years of love [19], which sounds a bit like a curse to me (what does that say about year number eight?).

A young woman who wanted to check the fidelity of her lover (probably Duncan) would simply tickle the inside her nose with one of the yarrow's feathery leaves and recite [9]:

"Yarroway, Yarroway, bear a white blow;

If my love love me, my nose will bleed now".

If the lady's nose bled, GREAT; it looks like Duncan had been faithful after all. If her nose did not bleed, Duncan (now a known philanderer) was likely to receive a black eye... which he may treat with the very plant that led to it.

History

The Smithsonian Institute found DNA evidence of yarrow from a 2,000 year old medicinal pill found upon an ancient Roman shipwreck [38].

Mythology

Achilles!

If you haven't read Iliad yet, you probably know Achilles for his solitary weakness: his vulnerable heel; what you may not know is that he was a gore-soaked psychopath who would sooner drag your naked corpse from a speeding chariot in front of your parents than sit around and chat with you about your pets. Achilles knew everything dealing with human blood (he probably brushed his teeth with it), so it comes as no shock that the warrior is credited with discovering yarrow's use in stopping blood from spewing out of a wound. To honor Achilles for discovering the antihemorrhagic properties of yarrow, the ancients (Pliny the Elder among them) called yarrow, achilleos [10] which most likely led to our modern genus name for the plant, Achillea. However, Pliny himself was a little confused as to the nature of Achilles' association with the plant.

"Achilles too, the pupil of Chiron, discovered a plant which heals wounds, and which, as being his discovery, is known as the "achilleos." It was by the aid of this plant, they say, that he cured Telephus. Other authorities, however, assert that he was the first to discover that verdigris is an extremely useful ingredient in plasters; and hence it is that he is sometimes represented in pictures as scraping with his sword the rust from off a spear into the wound of Telephus. Some again, are of opinion that he made use of both remedies." [10]

Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.)

While Achilles has been honored in name, and was supposed to have been trained by the wise centaur/herbal doctor, Chiron, we can see that the mythology linking Achilles to yarrow is a bit more tenuous than other articles may have you believe.

In some accounts, Achilles healed the wound he inflicted on an adversary, named Telephus (the son of Hercules), with yarrow in a freak display of mercy [11].

In other accounts, after incurring the bad-will of Bacchus, Telephus tripped over a vine and was speared by Achilles after the fall; alarmed that wound would not heal, Telephus visited an oracle who told him that the yarrow plant would heal his wound. Instead of finding the plant, Telephus bargained with Achilles that he would lead him to Troy if he could cure his wound. Achilles scraped the rust from his spear, and from the rust yarrow grew. Achilles used the magically appearing plant to cure Telephus [12]. This story makes no sense to me.

While these accounts are most often touted by the yarrow-centric, the most widely recited version of this legend is that Achilles cured Telephus' wound using the rust shavings from his spear and nothing else [13] [14] [15] [so on].