Achillea millefolium - Achillée millefeuille

Habitat

Exposition

Plein soleil ou mi-ombre

Vent

Tolère un peu de vent

Humidité

Sol sec à moyen. Tolère la sécheresse.

Sol

Tous sols. Nécessite un sol drainant. Tolère les sols pauvres.

pH

Sol acide ou calcaire

Rusticité

Zone 2

Habitat originel

Meadows, pastures, lawns etc. on all but the poorest soils[17].

Origine géographique

Europe, including Britain, north to 71°, and east to western Asia.

Dangers connus

• Extended use of this plant, either medicinally or in the diet, can cause allergic skin rashes or lead to photosensitivity in some people [21, 238].

Comestibilité

• Feuilles - crues ou cuites [4, 5, 46, 52].
• A rather bitter flavour, they make an acceptable addition to mixed salads and are best used when young [9, 183, K].
• The leaves are also used as a hop-substitute for flavouring and as a preservative for beer etc [2, 9, 53, 183].
• Although in general yarrow is a very nutritious and beneficial plant to add to the diet, some caution should be exercised [K].
• See the notes above on possible toxicity .
• An aromatic tea is made from the flowers and leaves [183].
• An essential oil from the flowering heads is used as a flavouring for soft drinks [183].

Usages médicinaux

• Yarrow has a high reputation and is widely employed in herbal medicine, administered both internally and externally .
• It is used in the treatment of a very wide range of disorders but is particularly valuable for treating wounds, stopping the flow of blood, treating colds, fevers, kidney diseases, menstrual pain etc [218, 238, 254, 257].
• The whole plant is used, both fresh and dried, and is best harvested when in flower [222].
• Some caution should be exercised in the use of this herb since large or frequent doses taken over a long period may be potentially harmful[222], causing allergic rashes and making the skin more sensitive to sunlight [238].
• The herb combines well with Sambucus nigra flowers (Elder) and Mentha x piperita vulgaris (Peppermint) for treating colds and influenza [268].
• The herb is antiseptic, antispasmodic, mildly aromatic, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestive, emmenagogue, odontalgic, stimulant, bitter tonic, vasodilator and vulnerary [4, 9, 14, 21, 54, 145, 165, 172, 238, 240, 254].
• It also contains the anti-inflammatory agent azulene, though the content of this varies even between plants in the same habitat [238].
• The herb is harvested in the summer when in flower and can be dried for later use [4].
• The fresh leaf can be applied direct to an aching tooth in order to relieve the pain [268].

Autres usages

• The growing plant repels beetles, ants and flies [14, 99, 172].
• The plant has been burnt in order to ward off mosquitoes [257].
• A liquid plant feed can be made from the leaves [54].
• You fill a container with the leaves and then add some water .
• Leave it to soak for a week or two and then dilute the rather smelly dark liquid, perhaps 10 - 1 with water though this figure is not crucial [K].
• This plant is an essential ingredient of 'Quick Return' herbal compost activator [32].
• This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost [K].
• The fragrant seeds have been used to impart a pleasant smell indoors [257].
• An essential oil obtained from the leaves is used medicinally [17, 46, 61].
• The leaves contain from 0.6 to 0.85% essential oil [240].
• The leaves have been used as a cosmetic cleanser for greasy skin [268].
• Yellow and green dyes are obtained from the flowers [168].
• A good ground cover plant, spreading quickly by its roots [208].

Culture

• Succeeds in most soils and situations but prefers a well-drained soil in a sunny position [1, 14].
• Shade tolerant [13].
• Plants live longer when grown in a poor soil[200] and also do well on lime [208].
• Established plants are very drought tolerant[200], they can show distress in very severe droughts but usually recover [190].
• It remains green after grass has turned brown in a drought [187].
• Plants succeed in maritime gardens [233].
• The plant has a very spreading root system and is usually quite invasive [233, K].
• A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -25°c [187].
• Yarrow is an excellent plant for growing in lawns, meadows, orchards etc., it is tolerant of repeated close cutting and of being walked on [20, 54].
• It works to improve the soil fertility [20, 54].
• A very good companion plant, it improves the health of plants growing nearby and enhances their essential oil content thus making them more resistant to insect predations [14, 18, 20, 53].
• There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value [183, 238].
• 'Pink' (syn .
• 'Rosea') has very aromatic foliage and deep pink flowers [183].
• S'hybride facilement avec les autres variétés du genre [200].
• A good bee plant, it is an important nectar source for many insects [24].

Propagation

• Graines - semez au printemps ou au début de l'automne sous chassis [133].
• Les graines germent généralement en 1-3 mois [133].
• Quand elles sont suffisamment développées pour être manipulées, repiquez les jeunes pousses en pots individuels et plantez les en extérieur durant l'été .
• Division au printemps ou à l'automne .
• Très facile, les divisions peuvent être plantées directement à leur place définitive .
• Les divisions réussissent à tout moment de l'année .
• Basal cuttings of new shoots in spring .
• Very easy, collect the shoots when they are about 10cm tall, potting them up individually in pots and keeping them in a warm but lightly shaded position .
• They should root within 3 weeks and will be ready to plant out in the summer .