Latin name: Achillea millefolium L.
Botanical family: Asteraceae
Growth habit: Herb
Vernacular name(s): yarrow, milfoil (Eng.)
achillée millefeuille, herbe à dindes (Fr.)
wapunewusk, wapanowask, wapanaskiy (hk, asteskotawan, astaweskotawan, miskigonim)
t'a'nchaydelgai (Chipewyan)
sa'pagol (Malecite)
a'djidamo'wano, adjidamo'anûk (Ojibwa)
namahiba'go (Abenaki)
teskwemaskiki (Atikamekw)
kâuâpishtukuâniâshiti tshishiteu-nîpîsha (Montagnais)
at''àn dagàii (Dene)
Uses:
Whole plant :Used to stop bleeding [Dene 13; Cree 93]. Boiled until thick and used as a liniment [Malecite 65]. Used for fever, cold and other respiratory disorders [Mi'kmaq 43; Atikamekw 73; Abenaki 67; Algonquin 69; Montagnais/Innu 60, 71, 72]. Dried, mashed into a powder, and rubbed with leaves or bark on swelling, bruise, or sprain [Mi'kmaq 43, 61]. Mixed with lard and applied to infected sores [Cree 13]. Decoction used to treat diarrhoea [Cree 13]. Soaking in a bath of hot water and Achillae millefolium helps treat arthritis or aching bones, and a twice-boiled decoction of the plant can be drunk after the bath [Cree 13]. Boiled and wrapped on a sore body or used to wash the body to treat pain [Dene 17]. Tea for cough and ulcers [Dene 99]. or stomach problems [Cree 96]. Boiled and taken to treat diabetes [Cree 93].
Above-ground parts :Poultice used to treat headaches including migraines, arthritis, muscular pain, sore back, or body pain [Cree 13; 96]. Tea drunk as a painkiller [Cree 13]. as well as for sore throat, cough and cold [Cree 96]. Decoction drunk to treat sore chest [Cree 13]. Poultice or tea used to treat colds, headaches, to stop bleeding or to relieve a sore throat, itchiness and other skin problems [Dene 100].
Leaves :Dried and boiled to make a decoction to treat diabetes [Cree 13]. Crushed and used as a snuff for headaches, or boiled and the steam inhaled and the decoction drunk, or flower and leaves are burned and the smoke inhaled [Chippewa 47; Cree 13; Atikamekw 73; Algonquin 69]. Chewed and applied to burns, cuts or bee stings [Algonquin 68; Cree 13]. Infusion used as a wash for pimples, mosquito bites or other skin eruptions [Chippewa 47; Dene 13; Chipewyan 92]. Poultice used in skin disorders, cuts, burns and bee stings [Cree 96].
Roots :An ointment rubbed on sores, aching bones or swellings to relieve the pain, and a decoction of the same mix is drunk to help reduce swelling [Cree 13]. Seeds and roots are boiled and the steam used to treat sore eyes [Cree 13].
Flowers :Burned (sometimes with leaves) and the smoke used to fumigate a room in which someone is sick [Dene 13]. Florets placed on a bed of coals and smoke inhaled to break a fever [Ojibwa 87]. Fresh flower heads chewed and applied to bee stings, cuts, sores [Cree, Metis 13]. or placed in the nostril to stop a nosebleed [Cree 13, 93]. Decoction drunk as a spring tonic, to regain lost appetite, to treat menstrual cramps or heavy menstruation, to aid in childbirth to relieve labor pains and to stop haemorrhaging [Cree, Dene 13]. Used to treat sinus or chest congestion [Cree 13]. Dried flower heads boiled and the decoction used as a wash for skin rashes or sores [Cree, Metis 13]. Dried and smoked for headache [Chipewyan 92]. Boiled and drunk to prevent nosebleed, the liquid can also be used to soothe infected skin and sunburns, or rashes, including eczema [Dene 99]. Poultice used in skin disorders, cuts, burns and bee stings [Cree 96]. Boiled and drunk to treat cough or liver ailments [Dene 98].