Mugwort

Botanical Name: Artemisia Vulgaris
Common Names: Moxa, Traveler's Herb, Felon Herb, Old Man, Sailor's Tobacco

Mugwort is a tall growing plant. The stems are angular and often a purplish blue. The leaves are smooth and of dark green tint on the upper surface but covered with a dense cottony down beneath. The flowers are in small oval heads and are arranged in long, terminal panicles.

Drying
For drying mugwort, take bundles of stems with leaves and remove the lower leaves. Remove the leaves with dirt and insects. Tie the bunches and hang them upside down in a cool room out of direct light. They can also be spread thinly on clean floors or on shelves. When the leaves or roots get shrunken, they must be dried quickly by artificial heat in a drying room or shed.

Uses of Dried Mugwort
Dried mugworts are great for medicinal, metaphysical, culinary or ornamental purposes. The dried leaves of mugwort are used as a substitute for tea and agues. They are used to brew beers and flavor several other drinks. Dried leaves are widely used in the treatment of chronic dysentry. The compressed dried leaves and stems are used in moxibustion.

Dried mugwort has a long history of use in herbal medicine. They are placed in dream pillows for prophetic dreams. They are burned like incense and wafted through the area to keep mosquitoes away and to clean the air. They repel negativities. A mixture of dried mugworts leaves, dried lavender flowers, dried chamomile flowers make fragrant potpourris. Beautiful wreath and spray of dried mugwort flowers are made, this adds a lovely scent to any doorway or room.

The dried mugwort is burned at the cattle shed and the smoke is inhaled by cattle with bloat. This smoke stimulates the cranial nerve which causes stomach to eliminate gases.