Which Plant Stops Blood, Encourages Saliva, and Has a Pungent Smell?

Kingfisher Clarity: A Design Rooted in Sacred Plants

Kingfisher Clarity and Magpie Mystery are now available at Front Range Birding & Optics in Boulder, Colorado. We met our first retail partner at the Denver Audubon Society Wings & Wonder Holiday Market in December. Sharing our sacred bird designs with fellow bird enthusiasts in Boulder represents a milestone for Earth Medicine Apparel Co.

Kingfisher Clarity has quickly become one of our top-selling designs. The design was inspired by witnessing a kingfisher hunt at a favorite local park on multiple occasions, one of those animal encounters that really caught my attention. Sitting on the bank along the creek, I noticed several small yarrow plants growing nearby, which further inspired their incorporation into the design as a sort of mandala.

The Ancient Plant: Yarrow's Global Presence

Yarrow is so ancient that it grows all over the globe except Antarctica, so common that most people recognize it. A plant of myth and legend, with feathery leaves and pungent smell, it can stop bleeding wounds and move stagnant blood, supporting the body's resistance to sickness. Yarrow is a darling for pollinators, commonly found along mountain paths and in garden beds, or tucked amongst forests of Aspen, Spruce, and Pine. We even have one growing out of a crack in our driveway!

Achillea millefolium, so named by Linnaeus in 1753 to honor yarrow's place in Homer's Iliad as an Earth Medicine carried by Achilles on the battlefield, taught to him by the centaur Chiron. Millefolium is the predominant species because its leaves are comprised of tiny, feathery structures ("million leaves"). Yarrow's presence across the world testifies to just how ancient this plant is.

Archaeological Evidence of Ancient Relationship

Traces of yarrow have been found buried with Neanderthals in modern-day Iran, dated about 65,000 years ago. Imagine how our most ancient ancestors came to be in direct relationship with this plant. Perhaps a curious ancestor chewed its leaves and heard more clearly. Perhaps the obvious antiseptic smell was so telling that it made its way to being rubbed into wounds. Blood would clot, and wounds would be disinfected. The imagery of a Centaur teaching a human about plant medicine, a creature bridging human and animal worlds—speaks to the profound knowledge transfer embedded in our relationship with plants.

The Science Behind the Spirit

When exploring herbal medicine, I'm not just thinking about constituents or clinical uses. I'm considering the ecosystems these plants are part of, the relationships they maintain. Yarrow is incredibly adaptable, with flower structures that may be preferred landing places for native pollinators—wasps, sweat bees, and butterflies. The abundance of terpenes (the aromatics of plants) acts like both a communication system and an immune system for the plant, repelling disease, attracting pollinators, and affecting humans profoundly.

Yarrow shares with chamomile a terpene called chamazulene. When distilled, it has a deep blue color and is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. These molecules are incredibly therapeutic when humans take them, especially as whole-plant preparations like teas and tinctures.

Growing Yarrow at Home

This plant grows incredibly well in gardens, providing habitat, food, color, beauty, and medicine. Part of Earth Medicine Apparel Co.'s vision is to share more about the wisdom each plant and animal contains, with hopes that it deepens your own appreciation and understanding of all the incredible gifts this world offers.

Consider growing yarrow in your garden next season. Do you have a story about yarrow to share? The relationship between humans and this ancient plant continues to deepen with each generation that learns from it.

CLOUDSONG