All about Yarrow’s incredibly medicinal qualities.

Links & resources from this episode

• Prisoner’s Herbal Book
• Ukraine Herbal Solidarity Crowdfunder
• Support Toph and Tyler

Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/

Support the show

Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism podcast with your host Nicole

Rose from the Solidarity Apothecary.

This is your place for all things plants and liberation.

Let's get started.

Hi everyone.

How are you doing?

So this episode today is all about Yarrow and I know I say this every week and maybe

several times an episode, but Yarrow is definitely one of my favorite plants.

Just so many amazing medicinal qualities and so much kind of like

rich history of traditional use.

So I really hope you learn something and that you enjoy it.

In terms of some little kind of solidarity updates, a few more people

have been sent to prison from Bristol.

These are people that were on the Kill the Bill demonstration last March, 2021

that I've, that I've mentioned before, who were, yeah, out on the streets, protesting

the new legislation and also the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer.

And yeah, two people got sentenced to prison for violent disorder,

Toph and Tyler . As new prisoners like it's just, it makes a world

a difference to receive post.

Like I cannot describe that feeling of just like that first little bundle of

posts coming to you and knowing that people have your back and that they care

about you and that you're not alone.

I think the first days in prison are some of the hardest, like the biggest

kind of culture shock and you know, also like some of the most traumatic, like

being in induction, you're not unlocked very often, so you're really doing

like 23 hours a day most of the time.

And yeah.

Pretty intense, like change of reality.

So I'm gonna put a link in the show notes to their names and addresses

and their prisoner numbers and things.

You can just write them a normal card.

You can write them a letter.

You can also use this amazing tool called Email a prisoner, or things like

moon pig.com or Funky Pigeon, like they generally get in quite easily as well.

Those kind of like corporate printed cards.

Yeah, if you can take a moment to do that, that would be amazing.

I'm also gonna be releasing a second episode this week reading an article

about like the revolutionary potential of the prisoner class that's just come

out in, uh, uh, magazine I contributed to called Bulldozer, which is all

about prison abolition produced by friends in the Incarcerated Workers

Organizing Committee in Ireland.

So, yeah, so look out for that.

But in the meantime, enjoy this, this piece about Yarrow and,

yeah, once again like plug again for Ukraine herbal solidarity.

You know, like the winter is coming in Ukraine and russia are

targeting the energy infrastructure.

So huge amounts of people are without heating.

It's really fucking dire the situation.

And yeah.

We're gonna be launching an Instagram account really soon and we're gonna

be able to share like, more photos of our medicines being received in

Ukraine and testimonials and like yeah.

Different things to kind of like document, like the impact of the project.

So look out for that.

I will definitely share it on my Instagram.

Yeah.

Again, a little please for reviews.

Uh, please don't be shy.

Yeah.

Yeah.

See you next week.

Okay.

Yarrow.

I can't believe I'm doing this for a third time when I'd said that every plant

will be my favorite, but honestly Yarrow is like, yeah, definitely top three.

But yeah, I'm just thinking now there's also Rose, so yeah, maybe

it's gonna have to be top five.

Okay, Yarrow Latin name - Achillea millefolium.

Plant family is the Daisy family.

The Asteraceae family Identification, Yarrow has Yarrow darkish green

leaves deeply, and intricately cut into short, very thin lobes.

The main lobes divided further into smaller ones, two, pinnate,

which the cells can be divided three, pinnate, or toothed.

The leaves look like feathers.

The short, close, closely space lobes means that the leaf as a whole is

Yarrower and with a clearer outline.

Stems are quite stiff with dense branched heads of white or small,

white or pale pink flowers in summer or autumn, other species.

There is a vague similarity with wild carrot Dorota Carta when foraging.

However, Yarrow is very distinct.

I know Wild Carrot has like a little dot in the middle.

And yarrow doesn't.

. You can like go.

You know you can look the apple online like Google it very easily.

Folk names in English, soldiers wound wort, Herbe militaris,

Bloodwort, Sanguinary, Staunchweed.

Devil’s nettle, Devil’s plaything, Old man’s pepper.

Nosebleed, Carpenter’s weed, Life medicine . Milfoil, Allheal, Squirrel’s tail,.

Nosebleed.

My favorite bad man's plaything.

Which felt appropriate for a prisoner's herbal book.

Knights Milfoil, Seven-year’s love, Yarroway.

Englishman’s quinine, Carpenter’s g rass.

Thousandleaf, Noble yarrow, Thousand seal, Dog daisy, Field

Hop, Little feather, Warrior plant.

Millefolium in Latin means a thousand leaves.

Achillea comes from the story of Achilles, who used the herb to staunch

the blood of soldiers wounded in battle.

Chemical constituents.

Okay, here we go.

This section again, if you've listened to my other podcasts with these profiles,

you'll, you'll know that this is like my most dreaded section where I can't

pronounce everything cuz of my dyslexia and not being familiar with the words.

So enjoy having a laugh.

Okay.

Chemical constituents.

5% essential oil including alpha and beta pinenes, borneol, bornyl acetate

borneone, caryophyllene, 1,8- cineole, eugenol, farnesene, linalool, myrcene,

sabinene, salicylic acid, isovalerianic acid, terpineol, sesquiterpene

lactones, chamazulene, thujone.

Flavonoids apigenin, luteolin, quercetin, and their glycosides, artemetin,

casticin, rutin and others).Miscellaneous acetylenes, aldehydes, cycitols, plant

acids, resins, achillic acid, asparagines, choline, polyacetylenes; coumarins,

triterpenes, cyanogenic glycosides.

Woo.

I am not becoming a plant chemistry teacher anytime soon.

Okay, food and nutrition.

Yarrow has been used to brew beer as tobacco, and in salads and soups.

Herbalist Mark Paterson's nutritional profile of Yarrow shows it's very high

chromium and tin, high in ash, fat, riboflavin, thymine, and vitamin C.

Ecological role.

Yarrow can be found on dry to moist, neutral, basic, or mildly acidic

soils in un improved or semi improved grasslands in lowlands and uplands,

also in sand dunes and disturbed ground.

It's fantastic for insects, attracting bees, wasps, moths,

butterflies, flies, and beetles.

Medicinal herb farmers.

Jeff and Melanie Carpenter, write that growers can take advantage of

yarrow’s incredible insectary power.

By planting it in proximity to other plants that are prone to damage

from herbi, herbivorous insects or diseases that they carry with them.

Cultivation.

The carpenters plant yarrow at 12 inch spaces in rows, 14 inches

apart with three rows in a bed.

Yarrow will soon create a dense carpet over the soil.

They are generally harvested in the early stages of flowering

energetics, temperature, cooling, moisture, dry tissue states.

Heat excitation, Damp/Stagnation, Damp/Relaxation.

bitter, pungent, astringent, herbal

actions, anti-inflammatory, anti hemorrhagic, antipyretic, antiseptic,

especially for the urinary system.

Antispasmodic astringent, emmenagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, diuretic,

haemostatic, hypotensive/amphoteric forblood pressure, spasmolytic,

styptic, vasolidator.

Health Challenges supported by Yarrow.

Bleeding wound care and first aid.

Is potentially the most famous wound herb due to its septic action

of stopping bleeding internally and externally from small cuts to

internal bleeding and hemorrhage.

One of Yarrow's folk names is nosebleed because it's traditionally been used

during nose bleeds, where, where people simply roll up some fresh

leaves and stuff it up their noses.

This is a real crowd please if you're ever doing a herbal workshop, it's pretty

funny seeing someone put it up their nose.

It actually does hurt a little bit anyway.

You can also simply chew fresh leaves and apply to a wound.

Yarrow is powerful for all stages of the wound healing process from

being a styptic, stopping bleeding to increasing circulation, whereby

blood and necessary immunity, actors are moved to a wounded area.

To proliferation and granulation when new tissue starts to form.

If you don't have any fresh arrow, you can use dry arrow

that is rehydrated with water.

Don't use powders directly on a wound.

And, and I think like, sorry, there's I'm gonna do a podcast about wound care, but

there is like some exceptions to that.

Like if a wound.

Is like incredibly, damp.

You might use like Scutellaria baicalensis, to help kind

of dry that out, for example.

But it'll be like a very refined powder, and not kind of like

directly a Yarrow powder.

Anyway, I'll do another detail thing all about this, but this is just, you

know, it's just for people in prison.

It's meant to be like a very basic introduction.

Okay.

For example, you can make it into poultice or soak a cloth in a tea.

It is also great to wash a wound with Yarrow herbalist Sajah Popham describes,

so making a tea of Yarrow leaf and or flower strained can be great to soak and

soften a wound, aiding and clearing out debris, disinfecting it, reducing excess

inflammation and pain, and help with the regeneration of new cellular growth.

Bleeding gums, yarrow swished around in your mouth will

have an antimicrobial action.

We'll stop the bleeding right away and prevent infection.

Herbalist michael Moore also says that fringing chewing the fresh root

or applying the tinture topically after a tooth extraction really

helps colds, flute, and fevers.

For years, I would intuitively combine yarrow outflow and mint

every time I was developing a cold.

I was then nicely surprised as I found it, referenced as a combination

with a long, traditional use.

I usually just add the dried herbs together with hot water to steep and then.

Yarrow is a diuretic and helps the body to sweat and do what it needs to do to fight

an infection rather than suppressing it.

Sage says Yarrow is a critical remedy for colds and fevers, especially

when someone feels nauseous and experiences periodic fever.

Further adding, I think Yarrow is one of the di, the most dynamic remedies

for treatment of acute infection with a broad range of application,

respiratory, urinary, digestive, blood, circulatory, fever, topical, et cetera.

Fungal and microbial infections.

Sajah writes that Yarrow is full of aromatic volatile oils that display

antimicrobial and antifungal actions both topically and internally.

This is in combination with its diuretic property.

This in combination with its diuretic property makes it useful in a wide

variety of pathogenic infections, both systemically and locally,

especially for infected wounds in combination with its vulnerary.

Menstruation.

Yarrow is an emmenagogue, which means it promotes menstrual flow.

It does this in part by stimulating circulation of the blood in the pelvis.

It is also a menstrual regulator through this action, and by clearing

the liver with its bitter taste, so supporting hormonal balance in the body.

Amazingly Yarrow can also be used not just to promote menstruation, but to reduce it

acting intelligently to support the body.

Julie and Matthew Seal write the special ability to both stop

bleeding and break up stagnant blood.

Makes the yarrow a valuable menstrual remedy.

It will correct both heavy and suppressed periods and will normalize

blood flow if there is clotting.

It is used to treat abnormally heavy bleeding as well as vaginal leucorrhea,

whiteish, or yellowish discharge.

Digestive system.

Sajah states how Yarrow has an affinity for the liver, spleen, stomach,

and works specifically for hepatic portal vein congestion of the body.

This is predominantly through both its bitter and sedative properties.

Yarrow promotes secretions, alleviating and dispersing tension held in the

gut, moving out, stagnation, cooling, heat, and stimulating digestion.

He also adds, Yarrow will be helpful when someone has had chronic

relaxation of the bowels like diarrhea.

As the tissues don't have enough tonal quality to hold fluids in the stool,

drinking garity can be useful for cooling conditions such as leaky gut

syndrome, symbiosis, irritation of the intestines and bacterial infections

as the Yarrows virtues all work to improve the integrity of the tissues.

Yarrows also antimicrobial against Shigella bacteria.

Joint inflammation.

Yarrow is not only powerful for inflammation and wounds, but

also longer term conditions.

Michael Moore describes how Yarrow can be used for joint inflammations

caused by rheumatoid arthritis and other low level autoimmune or allergic

conditions that settle in the joints.

Urinary infections.

Yarrow is useful for urinary infections, UTIs that cause painful burning urination.

It can kill bacteria while simultaneously toning tissue.

It also has the diuretic properties that help the body respond

to all manner of infections.

Herbalist Stephen Harrod Buhner's book includes research that shows

how the compounds in Yarrow have proven effective against a number of

organisms that are associated with UTIs, including Candida albicans, Escherichia

Coli and Streptococcus faecalis.

Yarrow is also useful for people experiencing urinary difficulties

from a swollen prostate for circulatory conditions.

Has an incredible affinity for the blood and can be used to treat

conditions such as varicose veins, hypertension, hypotension, and thrombosis.

S Sadia describes yarrow's, actions on the blood.

Is used effectively to tone the blood vessels in the

peripheral capillaries and veins.

Paradoxically it not only tones and astringents, but also acts as a

vasodilator opening up the vessels and allows for more blood to move

through this system, thus bringing more nutrients and oxygen to areas

that may be lacking hemorrhoids.

Yarrow has a traditional use for hemorrhoids due to its astringency.

Sajah says astringency from the tannins make it excellent, both internally

and externally as it will tighten up the tissue, stop the bleeding,

reduce inflammation and pain, and shrink the hemorrhoid itself.

It can be added to a sits bath and also be used internally.

If all these incredible medicinal uses aren't enough, Yarrow is

also known in folk medicine as a tool for love divination.

Nigel g Pearson writes how if Yarrow would be wrapped in a flannel sache and

placed under a pillow at night, then that person will dream of their future lover.

Yarrow was also hung over newborn babies as a form of protection.

Magic.

Elizabeth Brook describes it as a herb for those fighting injustice with

Yarrow as protective battle armour..

Yarrow stalks are also used in the Chinese I Ching divination.

Cautions.

Yarrow is not recommended for people who are pregnant because

of it's emmenagogue action.

Yarrow can cause skin reactions in some people and in large

doses can cause headaches.

It also decreases drug absorption because of its ability to increase gut motility.

How to practically use Yarrow in prison where you might find yarrow?

I found yarrow in the graveled areas of prison paths, especially in the

areas further out between fences.

It was also up against the curbs in any cracks it could find fresh

leaf cuts and chew upper leaf and then place directly on the cut.

See also the dedicated wound section.

That's like a later part of the book.

Nose bleeds.

Roll up fresh leaves and put up the nose until the bleeding stops.

Bleeding gums make a tea with the fresh leaf and or flowers and

then swish it around your mouth.

Cold flus, fevers.

Add yellow leaves and or flowers to hot water and leave to infuse and strain it.

But make sure you drink it while it is still.

It'll help you sweat out a fever, so don't be alarmed if

you sweat more or feel hotter.

Keep making and drinking the tea every few hours until you feel better.

Periods.

You can drink guarantee to help bring on your period.

If your period's very heavy, you can drink garity to help normalize the flow.

If you have vaginal discharge, you can also drink garity regularly

to help clear up any infection and tone yourself down below.

Gut issues such as leaky, irritable bowel and so forth.

Drink yarrow regularly for diarrhea.

Drink it for, painful burning urination and urinary tract infections.

Drink strong ity, swollen prostate, drink yarrow tea.

Hemorrhoids, you can make a sitz bath.

This is where you fill a container with water large enough to place your button.

If you can get hold of one of those, so like the same size as a washing

up bowl, ideally, but obviously in prison, you'll have to improvise.

make a strong arrow infusion slash tea and add to the warm water and

then sit in it for 20 minutes.

If you can't make a sitz bath, you could also just add fresh or

dried yellow to a normal bath.

Or don't fill the bath completely full, but enough to cover your backside.

You can also help recover from hemorrhoids by drinking zero tea

internally for a number of weeks.

Joint pain.

Drink yarrow.

Varicose veins, hypertension.

Hypertension and thrombosis.

Strength.

Severity, toothache.

While I don't suggest digging up the roots, if there are limited plants

available, if there is an abundance, if there is an abundance, hopefully not an

ambulance, you can use the fresh root for toothache by directly chewing it.

And I know I'm like reading these chapters like individually, but there's,

there's kind of more content in the book explaining why you should always

seek kind of appropriate medical care.

And these are just kind of like useful tools and tricks while you're in

prison, but obviously in prison you should still try and seek healthcare,

you know, especially if you're, for example, bleeding from down below.

Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.

You can find the transcript, the links, all the resources from the show