Yarrow

Yarrow (Achillea; Ukrainian: derevii, kryvavnyk). A perennial medicinal herb (see Medicinal plants) of the family Asteraceae, with clusters of small white or pink flowers and aromatic fernlike leaves. Of the 23 species in Ukraine the common yarrow or milfoil (A. millefolium) grows as a weed. Liquid extract of its leaves and inflorescence has anti-inflammatory and hemostatic properties; it was used in folk medicine to stimulate the appetite. Endemic to Ukraine is the yellow-flowered ‘naked’ yarrow (A. glaberrima), which grows only on the granite rocks in the Kamiani Mohyly Nature Reserve in Donetsk oblast.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]