Wormwood is the common name for plants in the Artemisia genus, comprising between three hundred to four hundred species, many of which contain “wormwood” as part of their English common name. They include familiar species such as the western sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata, and many similar scrubby, shrub-like, wasteland-inhabiting plants.
The most commonly used species in beverage alcohol are Artemisia absinthium (grand wormwood) and Artemisia pontica (petite wormwood), best known as flavoring botanicals in the aperitif spirit absinthe and the aromatic fortified wine vermouth. Also common are Artemisia genipi (black genipi) and Artemisia glacialis (alpine wormwood), used in the traditional alpine liqueur génépy.
Artemisia absinthium, from which the plant takes its common French name, grande absinthe, has been used in medicine and beverages since the time of the ancient Egyptians, generally as an appetite stimulant, gastric tonic, and vermifuge. Its effectiveness in expelling intestinal parasites is the likely origin of the name wormwood. When macerated, it is extremely bitter. When distilled, as in absinthe, the bitter compounds remain behind and the sweeter alpine herbal flavors and aromas dominate.
Culpeper, Nicholas. Pharmacopœia Londinensis, or The London Dispensary. London: 1651.
By: Gwydion Stone