51. Artemisia afra. Jacq. Suffrutescent. Stem erect, branchy. Branches angular, furrowed, herbaceous, leafy. Leaves interruptedly bipinnatifid, stalked, smooth above and tomentose beneath; lobes linear-lanceolate, falcate. Petioles bearing stipules at base. Flower-heads peduncled, racemoso-paniculate, one-sided, hemisphærical, drooping. Scales of the involucre ovate, lanceolate, scarious. Recepticle naked.
The whole of the Wormwood (Alsem.) has a strong, balmy smell, and a bitter, aromatic, but nauseous taste, owing to a green essential oil which it contains. The herb is tonic, antispasmodic, and anthelmintic, and very useful in debility of the stomach, visceral obstructions, jaundice, hypochondriasis, or similar evils, while its efficacy as a vermifuge is generally admitted. The best forms for using it are the infusion, the decoction, and tincture, the latter being preferred by the colonists. A strong infusion is used externally as a collyrium in weakness of the eyes, and the pounded leaves and stalks are employed as a discutient in œdema and sugillations.