Mugwort

Artemisia princeps

Cineole and eupatilin — the young spring leaves

Mugwort is an Asteraceae perennial that spreads by rhizome, so once it settles in, it comes back in the same spot every year. Young leaves picked in spring go into soup, into steamed rice cakes, and into flour-dusted steamed dishes. The white felt on the underside of the leaf is a trait shared across many Artemisia species, so it cannot tell one kind from another; a plant you cannot identify with certainty is left where it stands. The Donguibogam lists it in the herb section as 艾葉, describing it as warm in nature — hot, by another account — bitter in taste, and non-toxic. It records the alternate names 氷臺 and 醫草, a picking time of the third day of the third lunar month and the fifth day of the fifth lunar month with the leaves dried in the sun, and the practice of using leaves that have been stored a long while. That is an old text and it does not match modern medical judgment.

Year-Round Calendar

Sowing

Harvest

Where It Grows

Main producer Major producer Wild population Latitudes at 15–25℃ Zoom and pan to explore · temperatures are rough zonal averages

Main producer The sajabal mugwort of Ganghwa in Incheon and the coastal mugwort of Namhae and Geoje in South Gyeongsang are both well known. It is harvested as a spring green for one season and also dried for use. Harvest March, April, May
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Wild population Common in fields and on embankments from Honshu southward, with the young shoots harvested in spring.
Major producer What is grown in bulk in Anguo, Hebei, and Qichun, Hubei, is Chinese mugwort (Artemisia argyi), a different species from our mugwort (Artemisia princeps).

The plant we call ssuk, Artemisia princeps, grows across Korea and Japan; what is cultivated on a large scale in China under the same name is Chinese mugwort (Artemisia argyi), a different species. Several species in the genus Artemisia have white-backed leaves, so they cannot be told apart by appearance alone — when they are shaded onto a single map, the species must be named and distinguished.

Optimum: 15~25℃
Range: 5~30℃
Hardiness: Hardy

A perennial that comes up on its own in fields, along roadsides, and in fallow ground. The rhizome overwinters (survives the winter) underground, tolerating temperatures down to around -25℃, and sends up shoots from the same spot the following spring. The stronger the sun, the thicker the leaves and the deeper the scent; in shade the leaves are thin and the scent faint. It stands up well to drought but poorly to spots where water pools.

In Korea Nationwide

It springs up on its own in fields, along roadsides, and on embankments nationwide. Once planted, the young shoots are picked from March to May starting the following spring; once the flower stalk rises the plant turns coarse and is no longer used as a green. Ganghwa in Incheon and Namhae in South Gyeongsang are well known for it.

How to grow

Light: Five hours of sun or more. In shade the leaves thin out and the aroma fades
Soil and depth: 25cm deep or more. As long as it drains, mugwort is not fussy about soil
Spacing: 30cm. Rhizomes run, and by the second year the gaps close on their own
Watering: Water when the surface dries. Weak on waterlogging, strong on drought
Feeding: Base compost is enough. Too much feed and you get lanky leaves with a weaker scent
Harvest: From the second year, cut finger-length shoots with scissors between March and May. Once the flower stalk rises the leaves go tough and are no longer worth picking

What makes the difference. Squeeze blanched mugwort into meal-sized balls and freeze them. One spring picking lasts the whole year

Why this one is harder. A single fragment of rhizome will regrow. Planted straight into open ground it takes over a bed within a few seasons, so use a pot or a bed with a root barrier

Common problems

Aphids You will see New shoots curl and feel sticky to the touch What to do Wash them off with a jet of water; if they return, use a soap or oil spray
Powdery mildew You will see White floury patches spread over the leaves after the rainy season What to do Thin the clump for airflow and clear away affected leaves

This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.

Health Benefits

Flavonoid antioxidant activity. Studies report that flavonoids isolated from Artemisia leaves, including eupatilin and jaceosidin, showed antioxidant activity in laboratory assays. The concentrations used in those assays are far removed from what a person eats as a spring vegetable.

Essential oil composition by picking date. Analytical studies report that the ratio of 1,8-cineole to camphor in mugwort essential oil shifts with picking date and plant part. That is why spring shoots and early-summer leaves smell noticeably different.

Nutrition

1,8-cineole (Main constituent of the essential oil) — The characteristic mugwort aroma
Eupatilin and jaceosidin (Flavonoids in the leaves) — Content varies by species and picking date
Thujone (Essential oil constituent) — Avoid large or long-term intake

Essential oil and aroma What you smell in mugwort is the essential oil held in the leaf. 1,8-cineole, camphor, and borneol are the constituents usually named. Blanching drives off some of the most volatile fraction and rounds the smell out; drying shifts the composition again, so dried leaf smells unlike fresh. Steamed rice cake still smells of mugwort because the less volatile constituents stay behind.

Eupatilin and jaceosidin These are flavonoids isolated from the leaves of Artemisia species, with eupatilin and jaceosidin the best known. Laboratory and animal studies report antioxidant activity for them, and their content varies widely by species and by picking date. The concentrations used in those experiments are not what a plate of spring greens delivers.

Thujone and how much to eat Mugwort essential oil contains alpha- and beta-thujone. Because it acts on the nervous system, European food rules set separate upper limits for how much may appear in food. A single spring meal of blanched greens sits nowhere near that level, but drinking strong pressed juice or concentrated extract daily is not a good idea.

Pairings

○ Rice flour — Blanched mugwort pounded together with short-grain and glutinous rice flour becomes ssuktteok, mugwort rice cake. The sweetness of the rice covers the bitterness, and the moisture of the cake holds the aroma for days. Wring the blanched leaves out hard or the dough turns slack.

○ Doenjang and ground perilla seed — Mugwort soup starts with a doenjang broth, young mugwort added late, and a spoon of ground perilla seed. The savor of the paste and the fat of the perilla mute the bitter, astringent edge. Add the mugwort at the very end — long boiling takes the aroma with it.

○ Roasted soybean flour — Ssuk-beomuri is a spring dish of young mugwort tossed in soybean and wheat flour and steamed. The nuttiness of roasted soybean flour suits the bitterness well, and it comes out less dry than wheat flour alone.

△ White hairs alone are not an identification — The white felt on the leaf underside is common to many Artemisia species, so it does not separate the edible kind from the rest. Picking on that single cue means other species come home in the same basket. A plant you cannot identify with certainty is left alone; use plants you grew yourself or bought. Nor is mugwort picked from roadsides with traffic or from ground that has been sprayed.

△ Strong pressed juice and concentrated extracts — Mugwort essential oil contains thujone, which acts on the nervous system, and European food rules set separate upper limits for how much may appear in food. A single spring meal of blanched greens sits nowhere near that level, but drinking strong pressed juice or concentrated extract daily is not a continuation of eating the greens. Such forms are not taken day after day over a long stretch.

△ Strong mugwort juice and concentrated extracts in pregnancy and while nursing — A spring meal of mugwort soup or mugwort rice cake is the plant's long-standing ordinary use. During pregnancy and while nursing, however, mugwort is not taken as strong pressed or simmered juice, as a concentrated extract, or as essential oil. Those forms carry far more of the essential-oil compounds, thujone among them, than a plate of blanched greens. Anyone already using such a product should speak with their own doctor.

Varieties

Korean mugwort (Seedling) — The common one. Dense white felt on the leaf underside
Chinese mugwort (Seedling) — One of the botanical sources of 艾葉. Thicker leaves, stronger aroma
Sajabal mugwort (Seedling) — A landrace from the Ganghwa area; leaf lobes splay like a lion's paw
Capillary wormwood (Seedling) — Called a mugwort in Korean, but a different species. Not used as a spring green — do not confuse the two

Source: Donguibogam, herb section, 艾葉 · Rural Development Administration (Nongsaro) · Korean Plant Names Index