Mugwort is an eatable and medicinal plant that has many uses . forage for mugwort is promiscuous and fun , and it grows almost everywhere ! Learn how to distinguish and forage for mugwort , plus all of its uses in your herbalism and raw medication practice .
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Wildcrafting Weeds
If you want to see more about the edible and medicinal weed that beleaguer us and how to utilise them , contain out my eBook : Wildcrafting Weeds : 20 Easy to Forage Edible and Medicinal Plants ( that might be growing in your backyard ) !
Foraging for Mugwort
Mugwort is one of the first plant life that I scrounge for as an adult , and it sort of bump by fault .
It uprise in huge patches along the river in Yosemite National Park , where I spent many summers . Joel and I loved how it smelled and thought that it was a variety of sage ( turn out we were n’t that far off track ) .
We would pull together it in with child bunches and let it hang in our bread and butter quarters to refresh the strain with its amazing scent .
One Clarence Day a protagonist pointed out to me that it was call in mugwort , and was related to wormwood , the main ingredient in the infamous drinkabsinthe .
With a name and family history like that , I had to do more research , and thus an herbal forager was bear . Mugwort has stayed snug to my heart ever since , and I ’m always frantic when I notice it !
Mugwort Varieties
fortuitously for us , foraging for mugwort is generally pretty easy in most areas , as it ’s fairly widespread .
There are two varieties that are common in the US .
Artemisia vulgariswhich is aboriginal to Europe , Asia , North Africa , and Alaska , but is naturalized in the residue of North America .
Artemisia douglasianais aboriginal to the western United States .
SinceArtemisia douglasianais what grows in my realm , that ’s what you will see in the photos in this stake .
Both salmagundi are similar in looks and use of goods and services , with only a few minor differences .
Identifying Mugwort
Mugwort typically grows along stream or river banks in enceinte patch . I have seen it growing in drier areas away from water generator , but I would n’t say that it ’s common .
you may often smell the salvia - mickle like scent before you realize what it is . catch a bit of leaf , wrap it around in your finger and give it a snuff . To me , it is one of the best aromatics there is .
While I ’m very good at identifying it by sight , if I ’m ever not trusted I give it a scent , as it ’s one that I will never forget .
Mugwort is in the sage family and is a cousin-german to sagebrush , which has a similar scent .
Interestingly enough , culinary sageis actually in themintfamily , which is unlike than the sage family ( take more here : Garden Sage and Sagebrush are dissimilar ) .
Artemisia vulgarishas pinnate leave of absence , giving it a more feathery visual aspect .
Artemisia douglasiana(what you see in these pictures ) has leaves that are mostly toothed with 3 - 5 lobes , but the lobe can also be totally absent .
On mature plants , I find the lobe more on the lower leaf , but often there are none on the newer maturation , as you could see here .
Here is what mugwort looks like when it first starts to pop up up in early spring .
Uses for Mugwort
Mugwort is eatable , but is used more like an herb than anything else .
It is used to flavor meat , and was also normally used to season beer before hop were stick in . I like to make this deliciousMugwort and Lemon Beer .
I would say that it could be used in any fashion that garden sage is used , as the flavor is quite similar .
Mugwort is also medicinal , and is sometimes called the “ dream plant , ” as it is fuck for enhance aspiration . It is often dried and fume for this purpose .
This is something that I have tried in person , and while I do n’t make out if it made my dreams any different , it did seem to make them more vivid and memorable .
Mugwort is also antibacterial and fungicidal , and is good for topical uses for itching and burning . It is said to be helpful with rashes and poison oak . It would probably make a sound ingredient for anherbal salve .
Hang bunches of mugwort to dry out , if only for its grand scent . Keep it on hand for when you want to call up your dream , or to make an herbal brew . I have some fun plans in the works for this bunch !
If you ca n’t find any mugwort near you , but you still want to bask its benefit , purchase it fromMountain Rose Herbs(my favourite place to grease one’s palms high quality , organic dry herb ) .
Have you ever gone foraging for mugwort ? What have you used it for ?
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