Achillea millefolium L.
Synonyms: = A. lanulosa, A. occidentalis (A. millefolium var. occidentalis)
Common names: Common yarrow, bloodwort, milfoil, sneezeweed
Cherokee: sʽa?so·unigistí – “goose weed” (Banks 1953:124)
Northern Cheyenne: hehaa-heséeoʔotse – “cough medicine” (Hart 1981:17)
Cree: kā-wāpistikwānīkāpat (Leighton 1985:23)
Flathead: ṉkwḱwa (Hart 1979:277)
Gosiute: wañ”-go-gĭp (Chamberlin 1911:360)
Haudenosaunee: dϵyohudaʹʽsą / aroʹzα̜odaʹʽsu̜ – “squirrel tail” Onondaga: gaʽsä̜häyϵndaʹkwa‘ – “looking like frosty weather” / unᶓʹʼda‘ (Waugh 1916:148)
Klamath: läl-wäl‘-säm (Coville 1897:105)
Lakota: xaŋte čaŋxloğaŋ – “cedar weed” / taopi pežuta – “wound medicine” (Munson 1981:231)
Menominee: onawonî’koso – “squirrel tail” (Smith 1923:23)
Meskwaki: anîkûkîe’shîkêki̥ʰ osawana’wi – “flying squirrel’s tail” / kîshkatoa’soanûk – “flying squirrel’s tell” / papaganīgwa ōsōwānowi äcigegi (Smith 1928:210)
Navajo: ‘azee’iiłtshee’íh – “medicine, dried” / xazéeiltshee’éh – “chipmunk tail” (Elmore 1944:79)
Ojibwe: wa’bîgwûn / wabîgwon – “white flower” (Smith 1932:362,417)
Onondaga: gaʽsä̜häyϵndaʹkwa‘ – “looking like frosty weather” / unᶓʹʼda‘ (Waugh 1916:148)
Osage: wetsaθiŋdse egoŋ – “rattlesnake’s tail-like” (Munson 1981:231)
Forest Potawatomi: nokwe’sikûn – “perfume reviver,” Prairie Potawatomi: kîshkatoa’soanûk – “flying squirrel tail” (Smith 1933:43)
Tewa: pobitsæʼin – “white flower” (Robbins et al. 1916:53)
Winnebago: hank-sintsh – “woodchuck tail” (Gilmore 1977:82)
Yuki: nun-ält‘-mil (Chesnut 1902)
Zuñi: ha’tsenawe – “cold leaf” (Stevenson 1909:42)
Location in Texas.: all TX except S; common in Travis Co.; only Achillea sp. in TX.
Form: herb; perennial.
Flowers: Apr-Sept (white, pink).
Notes – the various names with an animal’s tail are in reference to the plumose foliage’s appearance. The Zuñi name refers to the cooling effect of the leaves on the skin (Stevenson 1909:42). A common misconception is this plant is introduced, but it is native throughout the temperate regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. The genus name Achillea was given because in Homer’s “Iliad,” the warrior-hero Achilles uses yarrow on the battlefield to treat soldiers’ wounds.
Food
Aboveground parts – the foliage and flowers were made into a weak infusion for a pleasant tea by the Haudenosaunee (Waugh 1916:148) and Blackfeet (Hellson and Gadd 1974:100).
Medicine
Flowers – the flower heads were rubbed in the armpits by the Flathead as a deodorant (Hart 1979:277). Flower heads were dried and smoked by the Ojibwe for ceremonial purposes (Smith 1932:362). The flowers were placed on coals and the smoke was inhaled to break a fever (Smith 1932:362). Flower heads were mixed with other herbs for a ceremonial smoking mix (Smith 1932:417).
The flowers were placed on live coals by the Forest Potawatomi and the smudge was used to revive an unconscious person, or one in a coma, as well as to “keep any evil spirits away from the patient” (Smith 1933:43).
Yarrow flowers were mixed with Mentha arvensis flowers by the Cree, and both were crushed, wrapped in a cloth, dipped in water, and used to clean pus from the gums of a teething child (Leighton 1985:22).
Leaves & flowers – a tea was drunk by tribes in Montana as a cathartic, to treat tuberculosis, stomach trouble, and headache (Blankinship 1905). The tea was used as a lotion for sore eyes, and for sprains (Blankinship 1905). An infusion was used by the Yuki for treating tuberculosis, stomachache, headache, and as a lotion for sore eyes (Chesnut 1902). An alcoholic extract was applied externally to sprains and bruises (Chesnut 1902). An infusion was drunk for bad colds by California Natives (Mead 1972). An infusion was used as a compress by the Cree to treat headache and fever (Leighton 1985:23). An infusion was drunk by the Northern Cheyenne for “heart trouble and chest pains” (Hart 1981:18). An infusion or decoction was drunk by the Meskwaki for fever and fever with chills (Smith 1928:210).
Leaves – the juice of mashed leaves was put on sores as a salve by Kashaya Pomo (Goodrich et al. 1980). A poultice was applied on swelling or sores by the Washo (Mead 1972). Fresh or dried leaves were mashed and bound to wounds by the Miwok to stop pain (Mead 1972). A wad of leaves and their infusion was put into the ear to treat earache by the Winnebago (Gilmore 1977:81). Yarrow leaves were combined with crushed Texas mountain laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) seeds and one-seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma) needle sprays, and the concentrated decoction of all three together was applied to an ear by the Mexican Kickapoo to treat earache (Latorre and Latorre 1977:352). The leaves were mashed by chewing or pulverizing in water, then applied to cuts, bad bruises, and open wounds by the Flathead to stop bleeding and act as a disinfectant (Hart 1979:277). Yarrow leaves were applied to wounds by the Cree to stop bleeding (Leighton 1985:23). Leaves were compressed on a tooth with a toothache by the Flathead to relieve pain (Hart 1979:277). Leaves were used as a poultice on spider bites by the Ojibwe (Smith 1932:362). An infusion was drunk by the Menominee to treat fevers (Smith 1923:23). The leaves were used by the Menominee as a poultice on children’s rashes (Smith 1923:23). The leaves were dried and smoked by the Cherokee for catarrh (Banks 1953:124). Leaves were crushed and placed in the nose by the Northern Cheyenne to stop nosebleeds (Hart 1981:18). The dried leaves were boiled by the Yurok and applied the decoction to sore eyes (Baker 1981:78). The leaves were chewed and applied as a poultice to burns by the Nuxalk (Smith 1927:32). The leaves were chewed by the Dakelh and applied as a poultice to sprains and swellings (Smith 1927:32).
Foliage – put in water, then applied to open arrow or gunshot wounds by the Karuk (Mead 1972). A decoction was used by the Mono Lake Paiute for skin sores (Mead 1972). Leaves and stems were dried, stored, and carried on journeys by the Navajo (Elmore 1944:79). They were powdered, mixed with water, and used externally and internally (Elmore 1944:79). They were applied to cuts and saddle sores (Elmore 1944:79). A decoction was drunk by the Flathead for colds (Hart 1979:277). Solís (Kress et al. 1931:44) refers to a “certain kind of grass,” which the Karankawa refused to identify to Spaniards (probably because they were seen as battle enemies), was carried by the Karankawa into battle to staunch any wounds received in order to keep fighting (Kress et al. 1931:44), most likely referring to yarrow. A poultice was used by the Karuk for open arrow and gunshot wounds (Baker 1981:80). A decoction was used by the Meskwaki to wash ailments on the body (Smith 1928:210).
Aboveground parts – powdered and an infusion drunk by the Northern Cheyenne for colds, coughs, throat infection, or mild nausea (Bernier 2004:40, Hart 1981:17). An infusion was drunk by the Northern Cheyenne for tuberculosis (Bernier 2004:40, Hart 1981:18). They also drank this tea for “heart and chest troubles,” as well as after a sweat bath to induce sweating (Bernier 2004:40). To relieve sore eyes, the Yurok washed them with a decoction of the plant or exposed them to the steam (Baker 1981:15). A decoction was drunk frequently by the Dakelh for colds (Smith 1927:32). A decoction of the young plant was gargled for sore throat by the Gitxsan (Smith 1927:32).
Roots – a decoction was drunk by the Cree to treat fever (Leighton 1985:23). The roots were chewed by the Cree to relieve toothache (Leighton 1985:23). A decoction was drunk by the Cree to treat “teething related sickness” (Leighton 1985:22). A decoction was gargled for sore throat by the Gitxsan when the aboveground parts were dead (Smith 1927:32).
Whole plant – Bear River Indians used compresses of the whole plant to treat cuts and sores, an infusion for stomach trouble, and steamed plants for mild rheumatism (Mead 1972). It was smelled for colds or by old men for headaches among the Mono Lake Paiute (Mead 1972). Small amounts of an infusion was drunk for colds by the Mono Lake Paiute (Mead 1972). An infusion was used by the Winnebago to bathe swellings (Gilmore 1977:81). The plant was bandaged around joints affected by rheumatism by the Gosiute (Chamberlin 1911:350). An infusion was drunk by the Gosiute for headache or nausea (Chamberlin 1911:360). It was used by the Navajo as a panacea or universal tonic (Elmore 1944:79). A decoction was used by the Mexican Kickapoo to bathe suppurating (producing pus) ears, to bathe itching skin, or for bathing children suffering from measles (Latorre and Latorre 1977:353). The plant was dried by the Lakota, chewed, and applied to wounds as a poultice (Munson 1981:231). The Zuñi ground up the plant and mixed it with cold water to apply to burns (Stevenson 1909:42).
[unspecified parts] – used by the Osage in an unspecified way to treat toothaches (Munson 1981:231). They probably compressed the leaves on the tooth, like the Flathead (Hart 1979:277). The Hocąk used the smoke from the plant to revive an unconscious patient (Kidscher and Hurlburt 1998:360)
GS – leaves: spring-summer (Goodrich et al. 1980). Young aboveground parts: June – July (Smith 1927:32).
Notes – the roots of a particular herb were always carried by Texas Natives for the purpose of healing wounds of all kinds (Berlandier 1969:88). It was called “yerva del India” – “Indian herb” (Berlandier 1969:88, Ohlendorf et al. 1980:459), “yerba de la víbora” “snake herb” (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:459), or “pouip” (Comanche) (Berlandier 1969:88). It was prepared by crushing a bit, chewing on it to extract its juice, then the infused spit was applied thoroughly to the wound (Berlandier 1969:88). Even large and deep wounds were thus treated and purportedly quickly healed (Berlandier 1969:88). “Indian herb” may have been Achillea millefolium.
Material
Flowers –dried and used by the Cree as lynx bait (Leighton 1985:23).
Fruits – the seed heads were placed on coals by the Forest Potawatomi to produce a cleansing smoke (Smith 1933:119).
Leaves – used to pad Shasta women’s caps when carrying burden baskets because of the sweet odor of the leaves (Mead 1972).
Stem & leaves – used by the Klamath to hold open the body cavity of fish split open to dry (Coville 1897:105).
Experimentation
I have used this as a poultice on cuts and wounds many times. It is very effective in stopping bleeding and preventing infection. Its finely-divided leaves provide a large surface area to which the hemostatic effect may be attributable.
I drink an infusion of the leaves for most illnesses, as well as to promote healing for various injuries.
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