Achillea is a genus of about 85 flowering plants, in the family Asteraceae, commonly referred to as yarrow. They occur in Europe and temperate areas of Asia. A few grow in North America. These plants typically have frilly, hairy, aromatic leaves.
These plants show large, flat clusters of small flowers at the top of the stem. These flowers can be white, yellow, orange, pink or red. A number of species are popular garden plants.
The genus was named for the Greek mythological character Achilles. According to the Iliad, Achilles' soldiers used yarrow to treat wounds [1], hence some of its common names such as allheal and bloodwort.
Achillea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Achillea.
Species
* Achillea abrotanoides
* Achillea ageratifolia : Balkan Yarrow, Greek Yarrow
* Achillea aegyptiaca: Egyptian Yarrow
* Achillea ageratum : Sweet Yarrow, Sweet Nancy, English Mace
* Achillea albicaulis
* Achillea aleppica
* Achillea ambrosiaca
* Achillea arabica
* Achillea armenorum
* Achillea asplenifolia
* Achillea atrata
* Achillea aucheri
* Achillea barbeyana
* Achillea barrelieri
* Achillea biebersteinii
* Achillea brachyphylla
* Achillea bulgarica
* Achillea cartilaginea : Silver Spray Yarrow
* Achillea chrysocoma
* Achillea clavennae : Silvery Yarrow
* Achillea clusiana
* Achillea clypeolata
* Achillea coarctata
* Achillea collina
* Achillea cretica
* Achillea crithmifolia
* Achillea cucullata
* Achillea decolorans = synonym of Achillea ageratum Garden Mace
* Achillea depressa
* Achillea distans : Alps Yarrow
* Achillea erba-rotta : Musk Milfoil
* Achillea falcata
* Achillea filipendulina Fernleaf Yarrow
* Achillea fraasii : Filigree Yarrow
* Achillea fragantissima
* Achillea lewisii
* Achillea goniocephala
* Achillea grandiflora
* Achillea griseovirens
* Achillea gypsicola
* Achillea holosericea
* Achillea horanszkyi
* Achillea huteri
* Achillea kelleri
* Achillea kotschyi
* Achillea lanulosa : White Yarrow
* Achillea ligustica : Ligurian Yarrow
* Achillea lingulata
* Achillea macrophylla : Broad-leaved Yarrow
* Achillea membranacea
* Achillea micrantha
* Achillea millefolium : Milfoil, Yarrow, Allheal, Thousand-leaf, Bloodwort, Carpenter's Grass, Cammock, Green arrow, Gordoloba, Plumajillo, Sneezeweed, Nosebleed, Green Adder's Mouth, Soldier's Woundwort, Dog Daisy, Old-man's-pepper
* Achillea monocephala
* Achillea moschata : Musk Milfoil, Forest Lady's Herb
* Achillea nana : Dwarf Alpine Yarrow
* Achillea nobilis : Noble Yarrow, Creamy Yarrow
* Achillea ochroleuca
* Achillea odorata
* Achillea oxyloba
* Achillea oxyodonta
* Achillea pannonica
* Achillea phrygia
* Achillea ptarmica : Sneezewort, Sneezeweed, Seezewort Yarrow, Bachelor's Buttons
* Achillea pyrenaica
* Achillea roseo-alba
* Achillea rupestris
* Achillea santolina
* Achillea schischkinii
* Achillea sedelmeyeriana
* Achillea setacea
* Achillea sibirica : Siberian Yarrow
* Achillea sintenisii
* Achillea sipikorensis
* Achillea sulpherea
* Achillea talagonica
* Achillea taygetea
* Achillea tenuifolia Lam.
o Achillea santolina L.
* Achillea tomentosa : Woolly Yarrow
* Achillea tzsonii
* Achillea umbellata
* Achillea vermicularis
* Achillea vermiculata
* Achillea virescens
* Achillea wilhelmsii
* Achillea wilsoniana : Wilson's Yarrow
References
1. ^ "Achillea" (HTML). Index Nominum Genericorum. International Association for Plant Taxonomy (2006-02-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
External links
* Achillea by Flower-JPEG - Photos and info about it
* Why was yarrow named for Achilles? (killerplants.com)
