common yarrow

(Achillea millefolium)

Conservation Status
common yarrow
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Common yarrow is a 8 to 32 tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on usually a single stem, sometimes 2 to 4 stems, usually from rhizomes and fibrous roots. It often forms colonies.

The stem is erect, unbranched below the inflorescence, green, and sparsely to densely covered with long, tangled, white, woolly hairs. It does not have short branches in the leaf axils.

Basal leaves are fern-like and form a rosette. They are narrowly oblong to lance-shaped or inversely lance-shaped in outline, up to 13¾ long, and up to 1 wide. The division on the compound leaves is variable, as is the orientation of the leaflets. The leaf blades are deeply divided into leaflets (pinnate), which may be again pinnately divided (bipinnate). The ultimate leaflets are lobed (pinnatifid), and the lobes may be again lobed (bipinnatifid). The ultimate lobes are linear to thread-like, 1 16 to long, sometimes up to 3 16 long, and sharply pointed at the tip. The overall appearance of the blade may be flat, the leaflets and lobes arrayed like a feather, or 3-dimensional, the leaflets and lobes arrayed like a bottle brush. The upper surface is green or grayish-green and hairless or sparsely to moderately covered with woolly hairs. The lower surface is similar in color and moderately to densely covered with woolly hairs.

Stem leaves are alternate, 1 to 4¾ long, 3 16 to 1 wide, and otherwise similar to basal leaves. The leaves become gradually smaller as they ascend the stem. Only the lowermost stem leaves are stalked. When crushed, the stem and leaves emit an unpleasant odor.

The inflorescence is flat-topped or dome-shaped, compound, coyrmb-like, branched cluster (panicle) of 10 to 100 or more flower heads at the end of the stem.

The whorl of bracts at the base of the flower head (involucre) is to 3 16long and narrowly cup-shaped to nearly cylinder-shaped. It is composed of 20 to 30 modified leaves (phyllaries) in more or less 3 overlapping series. The phyllaries are green and egg-shaped to lance-shaped. The outer phyllaries are shorter than the inner ones. They have dark green to yellowish midribs and are densely covered with woolly hairs. The margins may be green, light brown, or dark brown.

The flower heads are to 3 16in diameter. They usually have 5 ray florets but may have as few as 3 or as many as 8, and they have 10 to 20 disk florets. The ray florets are white, rarely pink. The expanded portion of the ray floret is 1 16 to long and wide. The disk florets are white to grayish-white.

The fruit is a dry, one-seeded, 1 32 to 1 16 long seed capsule (cypsela). There is no tuft of hairs attached to the end.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

8 to 32

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

White

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

 

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Moderate moisture to wet. Prairies, forest openings, fields, roadsides, disturbed sites. Full sun.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

July to October

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30.

 
  4/3/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Very common and widespread

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Asteranae  
 

Order

Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies)  
 

Family

Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, asters, and allies)  
  Subfamily Asteroideae  
  Supertribe Asterodae  
  Tribe Anthemideae (chamomiles, yarrows, and allies)  
  Subtribe Matricariinae  
 

Genus

Achillea (yarrows)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

Up to eight subspecies, sixteen varieties, and seven forms of Achillea millefolium are currently recognized by some sources, based on differences in density and persistence of hairs, color of phyllary margins, leaf dissection and the shape of lobes, and the shape of the inflorescence. Other sources treat Achillea millefolium as a single, variable species.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Achillea alpicola

Achillea angustissima

Achillea arenicola

Achillea aspleniifolia

Achillea borealis

Achillea borealis ssp. arenicola

Achillea borealis ssp. californica

Achillea borealis ssp. typica

Achillea borealis var. arenicola

Achillea borealis var. californica

Achillea californica

Achillea eradiata

Achillea fusca

Achillea gigantea

Achillea gracilis

Achillea lanulosa

Achillea lanulosa ssp. alpicola

Achillea lanulosa ssp. megacephala

Achillea lanulosa ssp. typica

Achillea lanulosa var. alpicola

Achillea lanulosa var. arachnoidea

Achillea lanulosa var. eradiata

Achillea laxiflora

Achillea magna

Achillea megacephala

Achillea millefolium ssp. atrotegula

Achillea millefolium ssp. borealis

Achillea millefolium ssp. lanulosa

Achillea millefolium ssp. occidentalis

Achillea millefolium ssp. pallidotegula

Achillea millefolium var. alpicola

Achillea millefolium var. arenicola

Achillea millefolium var. aspleniifolia

Achillea millefolium var. borealis

Achillea millefolium var. californica

Achillea millefolium var. fulva

Achillea millefolium var. fusca

Achillea millefolium var. gigantea

Achillea millefolium var. gracilis

Achillea millefolium var. lanulosa

Achillea millefolium var. litoralis

Achillea millefolium var. maritima

Achillea millefolium var. megacephala

Achillea millefolium var. millefolium

Achillea millefolium var. nigrescens

Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis

Achillea millefolium var. pacifica

Achillea millefolium var. parviligula

Achillea millefolium var. parvula

Achillea millefolium var. puberula

Achillea millefolium var. rosea

Achillea millefolium var. russeolata

Achillea nigrescens

Achillea occidentalis

Achillea pacifica

Achillea puberula

Achillea rosea

Achillea subalpina

Achillea tomentosa

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

bloodwort

carpenter’s weed

common yarrow

devil’s nettle

milenrama

milfoil

nose bleed

old-man’s-pepper

sanguinary

soldier’s woundwort

stenchgrass

thousandleaf

western yarrow

woolly yarrow

yarrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Axil

The upper angle where a branch, stem, leaf stalk, or vein diverges.

 

Bipinnate

Twice pinnate. Divided into leaflets that are further pinnately divided.

 

Bipinnatifid

Twice pinnatifid. Cut deeply into lobes with each lobe also cut into deep lobes.

 

Compound leaf

A leaf that is divided into leaflets, each leaflet having the general appearance of a leaf, with all leaflets attached to a single leaf stem.

 

Corymb

A flat-topped or convex inflorescence in which the stalked flowers grow upward from various points on the main stem to approximately the same horizontal plane. The outer flowers open first.

 

Involucre

A whorl of bracts beneath or surrounding a flower or flower cluster.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Panicle

A pyramidal inflorescence with a main stem and branches. Flowers on the lower, longer branches mature earlier than those on the shorter, upper ones.

 

Phyllary

An individual bract within the involucre of a plant in the Asteraceae family.

 

Pinnate

On a compound leaf, having the leaflets arranged on opposite sides of a common stalk. On a bryophyte, having branches evenly arranged on opposite sides of a stem.

 

Pinnatifid

Deeply cut, more than half way to the midrib but not to the midrib, into lobes that are spaced out along the midrib; the lobes do not form separate leaflets.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 
 
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Robert Briggs

 
    common yarrow   common yarrow  
           
 
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Colony

 
    common yarrow   common yarrow  
           
    common yarrow      
           
 

Plant

 
    common yarrow   common yarrow  
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    common yarrow   common yarrow  
           
 

Flowers

 
    common yarrow   common yarrow  
           
    common yarrow   common yarrow  
           
    common yarrow      
           
 

Leaves

 
    common yarrow   common yarrow  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Achillea millefolium
Matt Lavin
 
  Achillea millefolium  
  Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Andree Reno Sanborn
 
  Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)  
     
  Achillea millefolium YARROW
Frank Mayfield
 
  Achillea millefolium YARROW  
  Achillea millefolium
lacoma23
 
   
 
About

Published on May 18, 2012

Plants of future (http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Achillea+millefolium)

GRIN - Taxonomic information (http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?1270)

 

 

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Other Videos
 
  Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Wandering Sole TV
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 15, 2013

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a flowering plant in the Sunflower (Asteraceae) family. It grows in temperate regions throughout North America and the Northern Hemisphere.

It is a very useful herb and throughout history various parts of the plant have been used to treat rheumatism, sore throats, toothaches, wounds and abrasions, high blood pressure, nosebleeds, colds, fevers, the flu, and variety of other ailments. It also has been used used as an anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, astringent, tonic, and stimulant. It contains the alkaloid achilleine, which can be used to suppress menstruation. The Secwepemc peoples put the leaves on fires to keep mosquitos away.

Despite all its uses, yarrow can cause severe allergic skin rashes and prolonged use can increase the skin's photosensitivity.

Other names for common yarrow include gordaldo, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf, and thousand-seal.

   
  Common Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) - 2013-07-13
W3stlander
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 2, 2013

Achillea millefolium (yarrow or common yarrow) is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

-----------
Duizendblad (Achillea Millefolium) is een plant uit de composietenfamilie (Asteraceae).

   
  Common Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) - 2012-09-02
W3stlander
 
   
 
About

Published on Sep 5, 2012

Achillea millefolium (yarrow or common yarrow) is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

-----------
Duizendblad (Achillea Millefolium) is een plant uit de composietenfamilie (Asteraceae).

   
  Achillea millefolium
wetvideocamera
 
   
 
About

Published on Sep 29, 2013

Yarrow - a weedlike plant often found growing in wastelands and roadsides. It has many leaves and clusters of white or pink flowers. Many medicinal values in this plant were utilized by First Nations groups in the Pacific Northwest.

   

 

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  Robert Briggs
11/7/2016

Location: Whitetail Woods Regional Park

common yarrow  
           
 
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