Artemisia herba-alba
White wormwood
CautionOther names: White wormwood
White wormwood dominant on dry Maghreb grasslands toward desert.
Heliotropic subshrub with silvery narrow segments.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Plant type
- Perennial subshrub
What the safety levels mean (expand legend)
- Generally recognised as safe. Often a common herb with reasonable harvest and use; still read the specific warnings on the card.
- Information. Primarily informational — details in the text and warnings below matter most.
- Caution. Needs extra care (dose, duration, sensitive groups, interactions).
- Risky. Significant risks — verify sources, contraindications and professional guidance.
- Not for home experimentation. Not suitable to experiment with at home without knowledge and certainty.
- High risk for internal use. Particular risk with internal use (e.g. alkaloids); avoid prolonged or irresponsible dosing.
- Not specified. Level not filled in yet — rely on individual warnings and links below.
Photograph on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Plant habit
Safety — read before use
For this herb it is important to check warnings, mix-ups and cautions. Start with the Safety section.
Quick overview
A practical summary; details are in the sections below.
- Safety grade
- Caution details
- Scientific sources on the card
- No specific citations attached to claims yet
- When and what to harvest
- Leaf — March–June
- Processing methods
Herbal infusion (tea), Culinary use, Incense / smoke offering
All methods and recipes on the card- Topics and symptoms
Digestion
Topics section, Symptoms overview
Identification and mix-ups
Typical shrubby habit and aromatic leaves.
Possible mix-ups and risks
Other Artemisia spp. are difficult vegetatively.
Similar herbs
- Wormwood
Close relatives sharing bitterness and thujone; white wormwood is a low, grey-felted semi-desert shrub, common wormwood a taller European herb. Both go into drinks by the pinch only.
Topics and symptoms
More topics are in the symptoms and topics overview.
- DigestionTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
Geographic occurrence
Morocco
Common (expected wild occurrence in the region)
Harvest
- LeafMarch–June
spring
Region: MoroccoNotes: Young aromatic shoots with leaves are cut in spring, before the shrubs partly shed in summer; only a small amount goes into tea and picking is sparing, because white wormwood holds the soil in semi-desert steppes.
Storage
- Drying(Leaf)
Dried shoots keep 12 months in a closed container; the camphor scent fades.
- Light:
- Out of light.
- Moisture:
- Protect from moisture.
- Safety:
- Label it — a strongly aromatic herb for tea by the pinch, not the handful.
Processing methods on this herb card
Infusion or brief extraction in hot water; usually without long boiling.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Here, herbal tea is prepared as an infusion: pour freshly boiling water over dried herbs or a herbal blend and steep for at least 5 minutes. BfR gives this as a hygiene rule, not a medicinal dose. Follow the specific product instructions, including a longer steeping time when stated. This rule for herbal infusions is not a general preparation guide for true tea (Camellia sinensis). Temperature, steep time, and the herb-to-water ratio change both flavour and what dissolves into the liquid.
Compared with a decoction, heat exposure is shorter and gentler; tender leaves and flowers are often better as an infusion than with prolonged simmering. For each herb, always follow the plant card for suitable plant part, preparation, and safety notes — general rules never replace species-level judgement.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Cooking, baking, seasoning as food — general category without therapeutic claims.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Culinary use covers herbs as ingredients in dishes, drinks, or spice mixes. This overview does not evaluate medicinal effects — only reminds you about species intent, allergies, and heat treatment where needed (e.g. some fruits or plant parts).
Combining with alcohol, sugar, or long cooking changes outcomes; verify culinary sources.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Burning or heating aromatic plant material (smoke, steam).
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Incense may be dried herb, resin blends, or preparations on charcoal. The effect is sensory and cultural; smoke can irritate airways in sensitive people.
Ventilate the space; use non-flammable bases and heat-safe vessels.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Traditional / spiritual use
Kept separate from science — entries are cultural or symbolic, not medical advice.
Chih — the scent of the steppe in nomad tea
General
Traditional useFolk remediesFolk useHerbal loreFor the Bedouin and Berber herders of the Maghreb chih is the scent of winter: a sprig is boiled into tea instead of mint, dried shrubs are burnt in the tent against insects and for fragrance, and grazing flocks carry its scent into milk and meat. In Moroccan and Algerian folk medicine the decoction is 'for the stomach and against worms'. A record of pastoral tradition, not a proven effect.
- Form:
- tea, fumigating tents, grazing
- Claim strength:
- Tradition
- Source note:
- Maghrebi (Bedouin, Berber) pastoral tradition; ethnobotanical accounts of North Africa.
Scientific notes
Each claim lists a study type and a source (URL or DOI) where available. Dose notes from the literature are informational only.
No published study records yet.
Images
The main photo is in the card header. More images will appear here when available.
Safety
What the warning types mean
The type on each warning helps group themes — it does not replace the separate severity badge.
- Internal use
- Risks from swallowing, extracts, duration of use or concentration for internal use.
- Interactions / medicines
- Possible effect on medicines or concurrent treatment — check sources and a professional.
- Raw plant parts
- Raw, unripe or poorly prepared plant parts can be dangerous.
- Toxins and regulation
- Toxic constituents or regulated compounds (e.g. in distillates).
- Contact with the plant
- Skin or mucosa irritation from contact with fresh plant or sap.
- Allergy
- Allergic reactions, often linked to family sensitisation.
- Harvesting and contamination
- Contamination, species mix-ups or harvesting from unsuitable places.
- Essential oil with camphor and thujoneModerate severityInternal use
White wormwood oil contains camphor, thujone and cineole depending on chemotype and showed acute toxicity in mice (Bertella et al. 2018). Neither the concentrated oil nor strong decoctions are drunk; the traditional pinch in tea is a different quantity. Not in pregnancy or for children.