Artemisia Absinthium is the botanical and Latin term for the plant Common Wormwood. The name “Artemisia” emanates from the Greek Goddess Artemis, daughter of Zeus and Apollo’s twin sibling. Artemis was the goddess of forests and hills, of the hunt as well as a defender of children. Artemis was later linked to the moon absinthesupreme. It is believed that the Latin “Absinthium” comes from the Ancient Greek for “unenjoyable” or “without sweetness”, dealing with wormwood’s bitter taste.
The herb, oil and seeds known as Wormwood come from the Common Wormwood plant, a perennial herb which often grows in rocky areas and on arid ground in Asia, North Africa as well as the Mediterranean. It has also been identified growing in parts of North America after spreading from people’s gardens. Some other names for common wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium, are armoise, green ginger and grande wormwood.
Wormwood plants are pretty, with their silver gray leaves and tiny yellow flowers. Wormwood oil is produced in tiny glands within the leaves. The Artemisia selection of plants also includes tarragon, sagebrush, sweet wormwood, Levant wormwood, silver king artemisia, Roman wormwood and southernwood. The Artemisia herbs are members of the Aster class of plants.
Wormwood has been utilized as a herbal medicine for thousands of years and its medical uses include:-
– Easing labor pains in females.
– Counteracting poison from toadstools and hemlock.
– Being an antiseptic.
– To help relieve digestive problems also to stimulate digestion. Wormwood may be helpful in treating individuals who do not have enough gastric acid.
– As a cardiac stimulant in pharmaceuticals.
– Lowering fevers.
– Being an anthelmintic to expel intestinal worms.
– Being a tonic.
There’s study claiming that wormwood could be effective in treating Alzheimer’s disease and Crohn’s disease.
Effects of Artemisia Absinthium
Wormwood is a crucial ingredient in the liquor Absinthe, the Green Fairy, which was restricted in many countries in early 1900s. Absinthe is called after this herb which also gives the drink its feature bitter taste,
Absinthe was prohibited simply because of its alleged psychedelic effects. It was considered to cause hallucinations also to drive people insane. Absinthe had also been linked to the Bohemian culture of Parisian Montmartre with its loose morals, courtesans and artists and writers.
Wormwood contains the chemical thujone that is said to be just like THC in the drug cannabis. There has been an Absinthe revival since the 1990s when studies showed that Absinthe actually only covered very small amounts of thujone and that it would be impossible to drink adequate Absinthe, for the thujone to become harmful, because Absinthe is unquestionably a powerful spirit – you would be comatosed first!
Drinking Absinthe is simply as safe as drinking any strong spirit nevertheless it should be consumed in moderation since it is about twice as strong as whisky and vodka.
Absinthe just isn’t real Absinthe without Artemisia Absinthium. Many producers make “fake” Absinthes using other herbs and flavorings however, these are certainly not the real Green Fairy. If you’d like the real thing you must check they consist of thujone or Common Wormwood or use essences, like those from AbsintheKit.com, to make your individual Absinthe that contains Artemisia Absinthium.