African wormwood
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Artemisia Species: Artemisia afra
Binomial name
Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd.

Artemisia afra is a common species of the genus Artemisia in Africa, with a wide distribution from South Africa, to areas reaching to the North and East, as far north as Ethiopia. Artemisia afra is the only indigenous species in this genus. Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Alseuosmiaceae Argophyllaceae Asteraceae - Daisies Calyceraceae Campanulaceae (incl. ... Diversity About 1500 genera and 23,000 species Type Genus Aster L. Subfamilies Barnadesioideae Cichorioideae Tribe Arctotidae Tribe Cardueae Tribe Eremothamneae Tribe Lactuceae Tribe Liabeae Tribe Mutisieae Tribe Tarchonantheae Tribe Vernonieae Asteroideae Tribe Anthemideae Tribe Astereae Tribe Calenduleae Tribe Eupatorieae Tribe Gnaphalieae Tribe Helenieae Tribe Heliantheae Tribe Inuleae Tribe Plucheae... Species See text Artemisia abrotanum (Southernwood) Artemisia absinthum (Absinth Wormwood) Artemisia alba Artemisia californica (California Sagebrush) leaves Artemisia mauiensis (Maui Wormwood) Artemisia pontica (Roman Wormwood) Artemisia pycnocephala (Beach Sagewort) flowers Dried Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) Artemisia cina (Levant Wormseed) Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (February 16, 1727 - October 26, 1817) was an Austrian scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. ... Carl Ludwig von Willdenow (August 22, 1765 - July 10, 1812) was a German botanist and pharmacist. ... Species See text Artemisia abrotanum (Southernwood) Artemisia absinthum (Absinth Wormwood) Artemisia alba Artemisia californica (California Sagebrush) leaves Artemisia mauiensis (Maui Wormwood) Artemisia pontica (Roman Wormwood) Artemisia pycnocephala (Beach Sagewort) flowers Dried Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) Artemisia cina (Levant Wormseed) Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

Artemisia afra grows in clumps, with ridged, woody stems, reaching from 0.5 meters to 2 meters in height. The leaves are dark green, of soft texture, and similar in shape to fern leaves. The undersides of the leaves are a lighter green, and are covered with white bristles. Artemisia afra blossoms in late summer, producing abundant bracts of butter-colored flowers, each approximately 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter. Artemisia afra exudes a pungent, sweet smell when any part of the plant is bruised.

Ethnobiology

Artemisia afra is a well-known medicinal plant in Africa, and is still used effectively by people of many cultures. Uses range from treating cough, fever, colic, headache, to intestinal parasites and malaria. In addition, Artemisia afra is frequently used as a moth repellent, and in organic insecticidal sprays. A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

The roots, stems and leaves are used as enemas, poultices, infusions, lotions, inhaled (e.g. smoked or snuffed), or as an essential oil. An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aromatic compounds from plants. ...

Essential oil

Essential oil extracts of Artemisia afra are prepared by steam distillation using twigs and blossoms. Extracts contain the following components (via gas chromatography) which are typical of extracts of the Artemisia genus: Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), or simply gas chromatography (GC) is a type of chromatography in which the mobile phase is a carrier gas, usually an inert gas such as helium or nitrogen, and the stationary phase is a microscopic layer of liquid on an inert solid support. ...

• α-thujone 52.9%
• β-thujone 15.07%
• 1,8 cineole 10.66%
• camphor 5.72%
• germacrene 1.60%
• δ-cadinene 1.16%
• α-terpineol 0.96%
• e-chrysanthenyl acetate 0.78%
• camphene 0.71%
• β-pinene 0.51%
• α-pinene 0.46%
• trans-β-ocimene 0.45%
• myrcene 0.22%

Thujone is a ketone and a monoterpene that exists in two stereoisomeric forms: (+)-3-thujone or α-thujone and (-)-3-thujone or β-thujone. ... Thujone is a ketone and a monoterpene that exists in two stereoisomeric forms: (+)-3-thujone or α-thujone and (-)-3-thujone or β-thujone. ... Eucalyptol is a natural organic compound which is a colorless liquid. ... R-phrases 11-20/21/22-36/37/38 S-phrases 16-26-36 RTECS number EX1260000 (R) EX1250000 (S) Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Terpineol is a naturally occurring monoterpene alcohol that has been isolated from a variety of sources such as cajuput oil, pine oil, and petitgrain oil. ... Camphene is bicyclic monoterpene. ... R-phrases 10-20/21/22-36/37/38-43-51 S-phrases 16-26-36-37-60-61 RTECS number DT7000000 (unspec. ... Ocimene refers to several isomeric organic compounds. ... Myrcene, or β-myrcene, is an olefinic natural organic compound. ...

References

• Bremness, L. The complete book of herbs, Dorling Kindersley, London, 1988.
• Jackson, W. Origins and meanings of names of South African plant genera, Univ. Cape Town, 1990.
• The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening, Huxley, A., et al, eds. Macmillan Press, London, 1992.