Wormwood

Wormwood, is the common name for the genus artemisia, a small flowery plant. Because of its toxicity, wormwood was used as a intestinal worm killer, hence the name. Other attributes include the stimulation of the cerebral cortex, light infusions corrects digestion and acidities, eliminates flatulence and indigestion, a great relieve in gout, it's a mental preservative and Absinth in moderated doses is a salutary perspiration and helps in weakness. Also it helps relieve gravel. In large quantities it can be nauseous, causing giddiness and convulsions that resemble epilepsy.

The wormwood family is large, consisting of 180 species. Every different plant contains different degrees of thujone, the controversial ingredient that is phrased by artists and hated by prohibitionists. Some drinks made with the roman wormwood have milder effects than Absinth made with common wormwood because of its concentration of thujone.

Wormwood is biter to the taste, in fact it's the bitterest of the bunch, only surpassed by rue.

Today, wormwood can be found almost anywhere in the world and is quite common on the wild. The plant has yellowish-green flowers and can grow to a little over 2 ½ feet, blooming in summer and autumn. The leafs which are slender, are covered with minuscule white filaments. The odor of thujone is notoriously present, and its roots give out an aromatic scent.

The cultivation of wormwood is fairly simple, as it's a plant that doesn't need much caring other than shade and water.

When distilled, wormwood yields .5 to 1.0 per cent. This oil contains thujone. In modern production of absinth, these oils are separated depending on its thujone concentrations and delivered to the houses that elaborate absinth, where they are blended with the other ingredients of the drink. Each manufacturer has its own way of elaboration that give a special taste and aroma. Different concentrations are achieved from the same plant simply by distilling separately the flower (which is the most aromatic and has the less thujone concentration), the leaves (which is about the middle in thujone concentration and aroma) and the stem which has the highest thujone concentration. Some producers dislike this method of mixing the essential oils to prepare absinth and prefer the traditional process where the whole herbs were used (not just its oils) because it provides a whole different taste.

The use in medicine of wormwood can be traced back to ancient Egyptians and Aztecs. It has become very popular now days with the revival of absinth. Although this drink has wormwood, it also has hyssop, anise, fennel, Angelica, Coriander among others, and the combination of these give the "drunk but lucid" effect that is so talk about in the consumption of the famous drink.