Colorado Plant Database
| IDENTIFICATION |
| Common Name: |
YARROW |
| Family: |
Sunflower - Asteraceae |
| Scientific Name: |
Achillea lanulosa |
| Meaning of Name: |
in Greek myth, the plant was given by the gods to Achilles to heal the wound in his heel; lanulosa - wooly. |
| Key Characteristics: |
receptacle (enlarged top of flowering stem) at least partly chaffy (small, dry, thin scales or bracts - small leaf-like structures); leaves feathery, alternate (1 leaf attached at each node, rather than 2 which would be characterized as opposite); morphologically identical to Eurasian cultivated species A. millefolium. |
| Flower Types: |
composite |
| Flower Color: |
white |
| Leaf Type: |
fern-like |
| Mature Height: |
to 3 feet. |
| Habitat: |
meadows and roadsides. |
| IMAGE |
 |
| ECOLOGY |
| Growth Form: |
herbaceous |
| Growth Duration: |
perennial |
| Angio/Gymnosperm: |
angiosperm (plant with covered seed). |
| Monocot/Dicot: |
dicot (plants with two seed leaves and netted leaf veins). |
| Life Zone: |
foothills to subalpine. |
| Frequency: |
common |
| Native/Alien: |
native |
| Season of Bloom: |
summer (Jun. - Aug.). |
| Eco Relationships: |
the sunflower family is one of the largest families of flowering plants in the world with some 25,000 species and is considered to be one of the most highly evolved due to the aggregation of flowers in heads; these heads attract and provide a landing platform for pollinators; most flowers in this family produce both nectar and pollen as rewards for pollinators; sunflowers attract a wide range of pollinators including true bugs, thrips, beetles, butterflies, moths, bees and flies. |
| HUMAN USES |
| Edibilty: |
hot tea will stimulate perspiration; considered a stomach tonic and useful in hiatal hernia; fresh leaves stimulate clotting of small to moderate cuts; tea can reduce unusually heavy menstrual flow, aid in shrinking hemorrhoids and reducing colon polyps. |
| Fiber/Dye: |
dye plant (stems, leaves, and flowers produce yellow, gold, or green colors). |
| LANDSCAPING |
| Landscaping Use: |
massed plantings, mixed borders. |
| Light Requirement: |
full sun. |
Version: 2.3.0 Release Date: Jan 2009 ©2009 Jefferson County ITS
