''Achillea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, known colloquially as yarrows. The plants typically have frilly

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

. The

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

"yarrow" usually refers to '' A. millefolium''. The genus was named after the Greek mythological character Achilles, whose soldiers were said to have used yarrow to treat their wounds; this is reflected by common names such as allheal and bloodwort. The genus is native primarily to Eurasia and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

These plants typically have frilly, hairy, aromatic

. The plants show large, flat clusters of small flowers at the top of the stem. The flowers can be white, yellow, orange, pink or red and are generally visited by many insects, and are thus characterised by a generalised pollination system.

Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus described the genus in 1753. The

"yarrow" is usually applied to '' Achillea millefolium'', but may also be used for other species within the genus.

Selected species

Nearly 1,000 names have been published within the genus ''Achillea'', at or below the level of species. Sources differ widely as to which should be recognized as species, which merit

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

or variety status, and which ones are merely synonyms of better-established names. For convenience,

the Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant species ...

maintained by the

Kew Botanic Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

is followed.

Cultivars

The following cultivars are recipients of the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

: *''Achillea ageratifolia'' *''Achillea'' 'Coronation Gold' *''Achillea'' 'Credo' *''Achillea filipendulina'' 'Cloth of Gold' *''Achillea filipendulina'' 'Gold Plate' *''Achillea'' 'Heidi' *''Achillea'' 'Hella Glashoff' *''Achillea'' 'Lachsschönheit' (Galaxy Series) *''Achillea'' × ''lewisii'' 'King Edward' *''Achillea'' 'Lucky Break' *''Achillea'' 'Martina' *''Achillea millefolium'' 'Lansdorferglut' *''Achillea'' 'Mondpagode' *''Achillea'' 'Moonshine' *''Achillea'' 'Summerwine'

Etymology

The genus was named after the Greek mythological character Achilles. According to legend, Achilles' soldiers used yarrow to treat their wounds, hence some of its common names such as allheal and bloodwort.

Distribution and habitat

The genus is primarily native to Europe, temperate areas of Asia, and

.Flora of China Vol. 20-21 Page 759 蓍属 shi shu ''Achillea'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 896. 1753.
/ref>

Ecology

''Achillea'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species.

Uses

''Achillea'' species and cultivars are popular garden plants.

Gallery

Image:Achillea asplenifolia1.jpg, ''

Achillea asplenifolia ''Achillea aspleniifolia'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order ...

'' Image:Achilleamillefolium2web.jpg, Yarrow ('' Achillea millefolium'') Image:Achillea clavenae0.jpg, Silvery Yarrow (''

Achillea clavenae ''Achillea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, known colloquially as yarrows. The plants typically have frilly leaves. The common name "yarrow" usually refers to '' A. millefolium''. The genus was named after the Gre ...

'') Image:Achillea ageratum corimbo.jpg, Sweet Yarrow ('' Achillea ageratum'') Image:Achillea filipendula detalle corimbo.jpg, Fernleaf Yarrow (''

Achillea filipendula ''Achillea filipendulina'', the yarrow, fernleaf yarrow, milfoil, or nosebleed, is an Asian species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, native to central and southwestern Asia (Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Cau ...

'') Flower on Djurgarden (52354).jpg, Macro image of Yarrow in Sweden

References

{{Authority control Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus