Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)

Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’

Wormwood

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Artemisia	From the Greek goddess Artemis, who gave it her own name because it helped cure her (there are other possible reasons for the derivation of this name too)
Cultivar	‘Powis Castle’

About plant names...

This cultivar of wormwood is a woody shrub less than 3' (91 cm) high, about 24" (60 cm) wide. It is probably a cross between Artemisia arborescens and A. absinthum.

Identification: Wormwood has sweet-smelling silver-gray fuzzy foliage. Flowers are inconspicuous, yellow, and they appear rarely.

Edibility: Wormwood (specifically Artemisia absinthum) has a bad rap. The fluorescent green anise-flavored spirit absinthe is made from wormwood. An alkaloid from the wormwood, thujone, was reputed to be a madness-inducing, addictive drug, blamed (among many other things) for Vincent Van Gogh’s descent into madness. None of this is true, and this drink, banned in 1915, is once again available in the United States. In any case, the wormwood plant is not considered edible.

Online References:

Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ on floridata.com

Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ at the Fine Gardening Plant Guide

Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

2/24/2010 · San Diego (Quail) Botanic Garden, Encinitas, California
≈ 32 × 24" (81 × 62 cm)

Range: Zones 6-9:

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