Latin name: Artemisia vulgaris
Common name: Mugwort
Other names: Wormwood, felon herb, chrysanthemum weed, wild wormwood, old Uncle Henry, sailor’s tobacco, naughty man or St John’s plant
How to spot it and where to find it: A perennial herb, mugwort can grow to 160cm high, with hairy, purple-brown stems and long oval leaves. It spreads by rhizomes underground and can be invasive, though it is most common on wasteland, roadside verges, woodland edges and ditches. The flowers, which appear from May to September, are disc shaped, pale green at bud stage, maturing to green or purple-green. Fruits mature from August to October.
Interesting facts: Mugwort’s other common name is wormwood, which is an ingredient in absinthe, the legendary hallucinatory drink. That is Artemisia absinthium, though, not A. vulgaris. Some 1,000…
