Yarrow and Spicebush

In Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians, Horn and Cathcart write that "a primary medicinal use of Milfoil Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) was to stop bleeding. The genus name Achillea pays honor to Achilles, who is said to have used this plant in the Trojan War to help his wounded soldiers. It was thought to be particularly helpful when a wound was caused by iron, so it was used as recently as the American Civil War, when the crushed plant was applied to bullet and shrapnel wounds. The Navajo refer to it as “life medicine” because of its many healing properties. It contains at least 100 biologically active compounds, with more than 12 identified as anti-inflammatory agents.”

Look for the yarrow’s white flowers in May. Thank you, Jane, for the donation of your plants to the garden.

Yarrow Photo - by Stephanie Brundage, https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=acmi2)
Spicebush Photos - https://www.wildflower.org/gallery/species.php?id_plant=LIBE3

There are three young Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) in our garden. Spicebush, named for its spicy, fragrant leaves and stems, is native to moist woodlands in the Midwest and occasionally occur in the Chicago area. It is most often used in landscapes in shrub borders and naturalized areas. Bright red fruits ripen from July through October on female plants, but are only showy once the foliage falls off. High in fat content in the berries are quickly eaten by various species of birds (from The Morton Arboretum, https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/spicebush).

Why three plants? What do we mean by “female plants”? This information is from Richard, who arranged the donation of the plants from Wild Ones: “The main reason I suggested at least three spicebush is because it is dioecious (fancy way of saying each plant has only a functional stamen, or functional pistols, but not both). So it takes plants of both genders to make the red berries in the fall. With three randomly selected plants, there should be a 75% chance you will get both genders. The plants I have were potted in April from bare root specimens…I like October for planting because the roots will develop over the winter, and I think that makes the plant more likely to survive things like a late freeze in the spring.”

Our spicebush may be too young to bloom next spring, but we’ll observe their progress. Gardening is an investment in the future! Through the gray days of winter, we can all look forward to spring and summer color.