Common Yarrow - Achillea millefolium

Common Yarrow – traditional medicinal plant with aromatic blossoms. 

A perennial medicinal and culinary herb with a spicy‑aromatic flavour and a high content of essential oils, flavonoids, and bitter compounds. It grows robustly, is extremely low‑maintenance, and is suitable for open ground, containers, and naturalistic gardens. It germinates reliably and is fully winter‑hardy. Ideal for home herb production and organic herb cultivation.

  Origin & History

The common yarrow is a wild plant native to Europe and large parts of Asia and belongs to the family Asteraceae, subfamily Asteroideae, genus Achillea. Today it is widespread across the entire Northern Hemisphere and has inhabited open, sunny habitats such as meadows, pastures, dry grasslands, fallow land, and roadsides for thousands of years. This wild species is highly adaptable and spread rapidly across Eurasia after the last Ice Age, later reaching North America as well. The name “Achillea” refers to the ancient tradition that Achilles used the plant to treat wounds.

Already in antiquity, common yarrow was described by Greek and Roman authors and appears in the herbal texts of Dioscorides and Pliny. It also played an important role in northern European cultures. In Germanic and Celtic traditions it was regarded as a protective and ritual plant, used as a culinary herb, dye plant, and in folk medicine, and formed part of numerous historical herbal preparations. Archaeobotanical finds from Neolithic settlements show that yarrow was collected early on and was likely cultivated. In the Middle Ages it was grown in monastic gardens and described in detail in herbals from the 9th to the 16th century, underscoring its long continuity as a cultivated and medicinal plant.

Due to its wide distribution, adaptability, and high content of aromatic compounds, it became one of the most important traditional herb plants in Europe. The common yarrow cultivated in gardens today corresponds to this historical wild form, which was collected, locally selected, and passed on in gardens over many centuries.

 Appearance & Characteristics

The plant is perennial and herbaceous, forming upright, branched stems with finely feathered, dark green leaves. The white to pale pink flowers are arranged in flat corymbs measuring 5–10 cm across. It attracts numerous insects and is fully winter‑hardy.

Plant details:

• Height: Medium‑tall, 60–80 cm

• Form: Upright, loosely branched

• Leaves: Finely feathered, aromatic

• Flowers: White to pale pink, flat corymbs 5–10 cm across

• Flavor: Spicy‑aromatic, slightly bitter

 Usage & Cultivation Highlights

Common yarrow is ideal for teas, infusions, herbal blends, tinctures, and natural cosmetics. Its flowers and leaves contain aromatic essential oils and bitter compounds and have long been used in European herbalism and folk traditions. As a culinary herb, it adds a spicy note to salads, herb butter, and wild‑herb mixtures. Its aromatic scent also makes it popular in herbal pillows, fragrance blends, and incense. In addition, it is used in traditional herbal wines and bitter preparations, serves as a flavourful ingredient in wild‑herb salts, and is suitable for drying for scented bouquets, potpourris, and decorative herb bundles. The dried flowers are often used for natural dyeing projects, herbal baths, and as a gently aromatic component in incense mixtures.

Common yarrow grows reliably both in open ground and in containers. It prefers sunny to semi‑shaded locations and tolerates drought extremely well. Perennial and winter‑hardy, it requires little water and is overall very low‑maintenance. It flowers for many weeks and attracts numerous beneficial insects such as bees, hoverflies, and butterflies. Thanks to its robustness and longevity, it is excellent for naturalistic, low‑maintenance gardens. It is also highly tolerant of cutting and regenerates quickly after pruning. It is sturdy, heat‑tolerant, competitive against weeds, and ideal for greening poor soils, herb meadows, and ecological flower strips.

Compared to other wild herbs, common yarrow is an exceptionally robust, traditional herb plant with aromatic blossoms – ideal for anyone seeking low‑maintenance, perennial herbs with high ecological value.