Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum L.)

Flowering southernwood (camphor-scented form)

pharm	Herba Abrotani
Albanian	Aborotoni, Aborotoni
Arabic	قيصوم
	Qisum
Catalan	Abròtan (mascle)
Chinese (Cantonese)	苦艾 [fú ngaai]
	Fu ngaai
Chinese (Mandarin)	苦艾 [kǔ ài]
	Ku ai
Croatian	Božje drvce
Czech	Brotan, Pelyněk brotan
Danish	Ambra, Abrod
Dutch	Citroenkruid, Averoom, Limoenkruid, Krampkruid, Citroenalsem
English	Lad's Love, Maiden's Ruin, Old Man
Esperanto	Abrotano
Estonian	Sidrunpuju
Finnish	Aaprottimaruna, Aaprotti
French	Aurone (mâle), Garde-robe, Citronelle
Gaelic	Meath chaltuinn
German	Eberraute, Eberries
Hungarian	Ebruta, Istenfű, Istenfa, Seprőruta
Italian	Abrotano
Japanese	キダチヨモギ
	Kidati-yomogi
Korean	서던우드
	Seodeonudu, Sodonudu
Latvian	Dievkociņš
Lithuanian	Diemedis
Norwegian	Abrodd
Polish	Bylica boże drzewko
Romanian	Lemnul Domnului
Russian	Кустарниковая полынь, Полынь Божье дерево, Полынь лечебная
	Kustarnikovaya polyn, Polyn Bozhe derevo, Polyn lechebnaya
Slovak	Palina abrotská, Palina abrotanová
Slovenian	Abrašica
Spanish	Abrótano macho
Swedish	Åbrodd
Turkish	Karapelin otu, Kafuriye

Southernwood leaves: Left the camphor-scented, right the lemon-scented cultivar

Leaves.

Asteraceae (sunflower family, also known as aster family), subfamily Asteroidae.

There are two different cultivated strains of southernwood, both of which have a strong fragrance, which many people find unpleasant even in mediocre amounts. The traditional type vaguely reminds of lemon, and the more recently bred type (“camphor southernwood”) has an even more intense and dominant smell.

Both types are, despite their significant bitterness, well suited for culinary usage. See zedoary on the topic of bitter spices and lemon myrtle about lemon scented spices.

Southernwood contains up to 1.4% essential oil. There are chemotypes whose oil is dominated by either thujone (up to 70%) or 1,8-cineol (up to 60%). Minor components are fenchene, sabinene, α-caryophyllene and β-caryophyllene. Furthermore, oil of southernwood is characterized by the heterocyclic sesqiterpenoids davanol, davanone and hydroxydavanone. See also mugwort on the toxicity of thujone.

Flowering branches of camphor-scented (left) and lemon-scented (right) southernwood.

Among the non-volatile constituents, an alkaloid abrotin and coumarins (isofraxidin, umbelliferon), flavonoids glycosides (rutin) and free flavonol ethers (various isomeric quercetin dimethyl ethers) are reported. Although southernwood contains bitter sesquiterpene lactones of absinthin type, it is still less bitter than its close relative, wormwood.

Thujone is also found in southernwood's close relatives mugwort and particularly wormwood, and in unrelated species like thuja or sage. It is rather poisonous and generally held responsible for the toxicity of alcoholics containing wormwood extracts. See also mugwort on absinthe.

Probably Asia Minor or Europe (the plant today grows wild in the Western Mediterranean).

The Latin name of the plant, abrotonum, is not related to Latin aper “boar” (as might be suggested by the German name Eberraute, which could be misinterpreted as “boar-rue”, but is in fact a distortion of the Latin name), but was borrowed from Greek habrotonon [ἁβρότονον]; the latter's origin is not known to me.

English southernwood is a contraction of southern wormwood; indeed, southernwood can be seen as a Southern (Mediterranean) variant of wormwood, which is grown in West and Central Europe only since the Middle Ages (see also lovage). The British name old man also was given in contrast to wormwood, which is known as old woman in some parts of Britain.

The Estonian name sidrunpuju contains sidrun “lemon” and puju “mugwort”; thus, the plant is perceived a lemon-scented variety of mugwort. For a similar example of a rather controversial fragrance associated with lemon in a North European name, see epazote.
French garde-robe “Guard of robes” refers to the plant's power to repel moths and other insects; yet lavender is more common for this purpose.

The botanical genus name Artemisia refers to the Greek goddess of hunting, Artemis [Ἄρτεμις]. The classical Greek name artemisia [ἀρτεμισία] is recorded for a plant sacred to the goddess; its precise meaning might have been wormwood (A. absinthium, A. ponticum) or another closely related species.

Nature One Health: Wormwoods Nature One Health: Southernwood Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Eberraute (biozac.de)