Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Gitxsan name:  unknown
Wet'suwet'en name:  bil'il yesone

Botanical Description

• aromatic perennial herb, 10-100 centimetres tall with fernlike leaves
• 10-20 white to sometimes reddish disk flowers in a flat or round-topped cluster
• found on dry to moist, well-drained open sites, such as rocky slopes, gravel bars, clearings, roadsides and open forest
• low to high elevations

Photo courtesy of Ruth Cooper (43kB)

Ethnobotanical Use

A decoction of everything except the root was gargled by the Gitxsan as a cure for sore throats, heart tonic or as a wound dressing. Yarrow mixed with fat was used a hair dressing.

The Wet'suwet'en people washed and crushed the roots to use as pain-killer for toothaches. The Wet'suwet'en would bathe in infusions made of the leaves and stems for relief from rheumatism. They also used decoctions of the plant as a tonic or astringent.

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This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet Digital Collection Program, Industry Canada.
Revised: 08/21/98