Wormwood Herbs | Wormwood from Absinthe to Parasites

Wormwood herb has a bad-ass reputation ! That can happen when you are powerful and misunderstood.

Wormwood plant and herbs has had many useful medical uses, from all aounrd the world.

In fact, the first known mention of wormwood dates to 1550 B.C. The Egyptians and many later cultures used it as a vermifuge, and the name "worm-wood" refers to its use for getting ride of worms. It was also believed then to prevent the plague.

The foliage was smoked by some American Indian tribes. Wormwood herbs were thought to induce visionary states during religious ceremonies.

Russian peasants thought that wormwood's bitter taste was because of the herb's "absorption of bitter human suffering."

In Mexico, women put wormwood on their heads during dance ceremonies dovoted to the Goddess of Salt.

The most popular use of wormwood plant it for the absinthe alcohol drink, the "drug of the age" in France in the past century,

The wormwood plant is part of the big Artemisia family. Many plants can be called a wormwood plant, but only one specific plant will qualify for the spirit known as absinthe : Artemisia absinthium

Wormwood grows on dry soils. It originates from Europe, but it spread rapidly around the world. It is communly used in landscaping

The wormwood plant grows up to 3 feet tall and can reach easily 5 feet tall. The steams are olive green and they are covert with fine silver hairs.

The wormwood seeds are easy to grow and do not need alot of care. The flowers are small and yellow, at the top of the plant.

You can drink your Wormwood for recreational and medicinal purposes. Wormwood is used as a tonic,upset stomach, intestinal parasites, headaches and the list goes on and on : beneficial for appetite, digestion, liver disorders, fever, heartburn, anxiety, diarrhea, menstrual cramps, stimulating uterine contractions during childbirth, and expelling intestinal worms.

Wormwood can be taken in the following forms:

• Wormwood Tea
  

Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (2.5 to 5 grams) of wormwood herb to 1 cup (250 ml) of boiling water, Let it infuse for ten to fifteen minutes. Three cups (750 ml) of tea can be taken each day.

• Wormwood Tincture
  

Add 10-20 drops in water and then taken ten to fifteen minutes before each meal.

• Wormwood Capsules

The only way to avoid completely the ever so bitter taste of wormwood, is by swallowing the capsules.

• Wormwood Oil

Do NOT drink. For light external application or to put in your bath

• Wormwood Perfume

Wormwood is sometimes used in the fabrication of perfume. You will see the ingredient under different names : it is called wormwood, artemisia, or sometimes armoise or absinth. A list of perfums with worwood : Yatagan (Caron) , Red for Men (Giorgio Beverly Hills) ,Derby (Guerlain) ,Devin (Aramis) , Furyo and Witness (Bogart) and , Xeryus (Givenchy) , Polo - the green one- (Ralph Lauren)

• Wormwood Absinthe
  

To make absinthe, soak 40 grams (1½ oz.) of wormwood for a couple of weeks in ½ liter of liquor (for instance Pernod). After sifting it, the drink is ready for use. Try a little glass first to make sure of the dosage.

*** I am NOT recommending to make real absinthe, the real complete ingredients are really hard to find and the process of distillation needed to make the alcohol is illegal in most countries.

Absinthe, the most maligned and misunderstood drink in history.

Wormwood is mostly famous because of this drink. Absinthe. There is no other drink that attracted more mystery and controversy.

Absinth was invented in 1792 by a French doctor. Intended as a medicine, it became very popular as a recreational drink in Europe. Paris writers and artistes had a very romantic liaison with absinth. It was portrayed like a drug. Absinthe's bad reputation still lingers in our culture

The chemical name for the principle active ingredient found in wormwood is thujone. This thujone was held responsible for the hallucinations associated to absinthe.

In the early 1900, absinthe was banned in almost all countries.

The side effects associated to thujone and the appropriate acceptable quantity are still very controversial subjects.

Absinth in the USA

Since 2007, it is legal to sell Absinth in the USA. But not every Absinth : authentic absinthe that complies with regulatory requirements.

The the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves of absinth with high alcohol and low thujone (10 parts per million, to be precise)

It is now legal to put the word Absinthe on the bottle, only if the product is "thujone-free" (under 10 ppm is considered"thujone-free")

A lot of vendors are still afraid of selling absinth, so you will find a lot of absinth in the USA that do not use wormwood at all ( it is the wormwood that contains "thujone")

Now, north americans can also have a piece of cocktail culture

I had to look this on up, cause my spell checker accepts both spelling : Absinth and Absinthe

The original word is from France and Switzerland, and if they say Absinthe, they are right !

The different spellings are language differences, but 'absinthe' with the 'e' is the generic spelling.

• Czech Republic = absinth
  

• Spanish = absenta

• Italians=assenzio

• French = absinthe