Alternate name: Common Yarrow
Family: Asteraceae, Aster view all from this family
Description Flat-topped clusters of small, whitish flowers grow at the top of a gray-green, leafy, usually hair, stem.
Flowers: heads about 1/4" (6 mm) across, composed of 4-6 ray flowers surrounding tiny central disk flowers.
Leaves: 6" (15 cm) long, very finely dissected, gray-green, fern-like, aromatic; lanceolate in outline, stalkless. Basal leaves longer.
Height: 1-3' (30-90 cm).
Flower June-September.
Habitat Old fields, roadsides.
Range Most of temperate North America.
Discussion There are both native and introduced populations of this wildflower throughout North America; it is impossible to distinguish the two. Yarrow was formerly used for medicinal purposes: to break a fever by increasing perspiration, to treat hemorrhaging and as a poultice for rashes. A tea used by Native Americans to cure stomach disorders was made by steeping the leaves. The foliage has a pleasant smell when crushed.
