VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Artemisia absinthium | Absinth Wormwood 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Canada geese use absinth wormwood for nesting cover on Columbia River
islands but prefer lupine and willow (Salix spp.) [9].


PALATABILITY : 
Absinth wormwood is unpalatable to fairly palatable to cattle [15,28].
Palatability is listed as poor for horses and good for sheep [28].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Absinth wormwood energy and protein values are listed as fair [28].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Absinth wormwood is a medicinal herb often planted in gardens.
Absinthal, a volatile oil produced from absinth wormwood flowerheads,
was used in French liquors until prohibited in 1915 because of its toxic
and addictive effects [8].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Absinth wormwood is considered a weed in pastureland, cropland, and
rangeland in the northern Great Plains [14,15].  Although it spreads
rapidly on disturbed sites, it is easily controlled by herbicides and/or
vigorous competition from grasses [14].  Picloram provides the most
rapid and complete control of absinth wormwood, but dicamba, 2,4-D, and
glyphosate are also effective.  Application techniques are described
[14,15].

Absinth wormwood, which contains the sesquiterpene lactone absinthin,
can be toxic to other plants in its vicinity.  Studies of its effect on
the germination of other plants are inconclusive [15].  Although absinth
wormwood leaf extracts inhibited the germination of needle-and-thread
grass (Stipa comata), they stimulated the germination of green
needlegrass (S. viridula) [10].

Absinth wormwood taints milk when eaten by cows [14].

Related categories for Species: Artemisia absinthium | Absinth Wormwood