Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua)

*Designated an invasive species in the following states, no sale: NJ, WV

Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua), also called Sweet Wormwood, Annual Wormwood or Qing Hao, they are an aromatic herbaceous annual named for their sweet and alluring scent. Sweet Annie grows about 5-6 feet tall and has small feathery green leaves and tiny greenish-yellow flowers that bloom between July and October. If you’ve never smelled Sweet Annie, you will be in for a great treat. Many people enjoy making wreaths and other decorations from the dried flowers and stems of this plant due to their wonderful aromatic virtues.

As a medicinal plant, Sweet Annie has been used in treating Malaria and high fever since the seventh century at least. Western herbalists also work with this Artemisia for their effectiveness against bacterial diseases, parasites, diarrhea and indigestion. Scientists have also been studying a constituent of Sweet Annie called artemisinin, which, in vitro, acts as an anti cancer agent. Sweet Annie also has a high content of phenolic compounds which results in having very high antioxidant activity. Recent studies show that Artemisia Annua is one of four plants with the highest Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) levels found in nature.