Feverfew

Tanacetum parthenium

Also known as Featherfew, Bachelor's Buttons, Wild Chamomile, Midsummer Daisy

At a glance

Family

Asteraceae (daisy family)

Type

Perennial herb

Parts used

Leaves, and sometimes flowers

Size

1 to 2 feet tall, forming a bushy mound

Bloom

Summer, small daisy-like flowers with white petals and golden centers

Habitat

Native to the Balkans and the Caucasus, long naturalized along roadsides, old cottage gardens, and sunny waste ground across Europe and North America

Acquisition

Grow or buy

Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditional headache relief

Eases muscle tension

Supports menstrual comfort

Traditionally used for fevers

Traditional uses

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Feverfew earned its common name from centuries of use as a fever remedy, though generations of herbalists came to prize it most for the head. Cottage gardeners in Britain and across Europe kept a patch by the door, plucking a leaf or two whenever a throbbing headache or the ache of overworked joints set in. Midwives and grandmothers also reached for feverfew to help ease the discomfort of a woman's monthly cycle, and it was tucked into remedies for digestive upset and general low spirits as well. Its wonderfully bitter, camphor-like bite was simply part of taking the medicine.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Chamomile
✦Peppermint
✦Ginger

Substitutes

✦Chamomile
✦White Willow Bark

Choose it when

“For the ache that settles in behind the eyes and will not leave quietly.”

Did you know?

Feverfew's Latin name, parthenium, is said to trace back to the Parthenon in Athens, after a legend that the herb saved a worker's life following a fall during the temple's construction.

Safety

Chewing the fresh leaf can cause mouth ulcers or a swollen tongue in sensitive people, and as a daisy-family plant it can trigger allergic reactions in those sensitive to ragweed or chrysanthemums. It may thin the blood, so use caution with blood-thinning medication, and it is traditionally avoided during pregnancy since it's associated with stimulating the uterus. Stopping long-term use abruptly can bring on rebound headaches, so taper off gradually.