100-200+ Wormwood seeds, Artemisia absinthium
Wormwood seeds, AKA Absinthe, Grand Wormwood, Grande Wormwood, Green Ginger.
This is the plant that is used for making traditional bitters, also an ingredient in absinthe. With its classic silver-green foliage and spikes of yellow flowers, wormwood is a worthy garden plant. Wormwood thrives on dry edges and in full to part sun. Hardy to Zones 4 to 9.
Sow the tiny seeds on the surface of sandy soil. An easy germinator and a long-lived, ornamental plant for the landscape. In the fall, cut back to just an inch or so above the old growth. Flowers in the second year.
Wormwood is used for various digestion problems such as loss of appetite, upset stomach, gall bladder disease, and intestinal spasms. Wormwood is also used to treat fever, liver disease, depression, muscle pain, memory loss and worm infections; to increase sexual desire; as a tonic; and to stimulate sweating. Wormwood is used for Crohn's disease and a kidney disorder called IgA nephropathy.
Wormwood oil is also used for digestive disorders, to increase sexual desire, and to stimulate the imagination.
Some people apply wormwood directly to the skin for osteoarthritis (OA), and healing wounds and insect bites. Wormwood oil is used as a counter-irritant to reduce pain.
In manufacturing, wormwood oil is used as a fragrance component in soaps, cosmetics, and perfumes. It is also used as an insecticide.