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Estragon | | Name : | Estragon | | Synonyms : | Estragon
RussianTarragon
| | Parts Used : | The flowering plant; leaves and root | | Habitat : | Grows in sunny, dry areas in the western United States, southernAsia, and Siberia. In Europe it is cultivated for its leaves, whichare used as a seasoning. | | Description : | Tarragon is a green, glabrous perennial shrub; its branched rootsystem with runners produces erect, bushy-branched stems from 2-4feet high. The lower leaves are ternate, the upper leaves lanceolateto linear and small-toothed or entire. The small, drooping whitish-greenor yellow flowers are almost globular and bloom from May to June interminal panicles. | | Constituents : | Diuretic, emmenagogue, hypnotic, stomachic | | Uses : | Relieves digestive problemsand catarrhal difficulties, stimulatesthe action of the kidneys, and promotes the onset of menses. The teastimulates the appetite,especially when it has been caused by illness. Taking the tea beforeretiring for the night helps overcome insomnia.Native Americans used leaf or root tea for colds, dysentery,diarrhea, headaches,difficult childbirth. Externally, leaves poulticed for wounds,bruises. | | Dosage : | Infusion: steep 1/2 tsp. dried plant in 1/2 cup boiling water.Take 1/2 to 1 cup per day, unsweetened. | | Safety : | Do not mistake Artemisia dracunculus (Tarragon) with Artemisia absinthium(Wormwood) which is poisonous.
Allergic reactions may result from use. | | Myths : | Sometimes substituted for the cooking herb French Tarragon (A. dracunculusvar. sativa), which, not producing viable seed, must be propagatedvegetatively. The French Tarragon, also called little dragon (esdragon),smells strongly of anise; Wild Tarragon may be odorless and flavorless.
Tarragon traces its historic roots back hundreds of years beforeChrist. Its use was recorded by Greeks about 500 BC; tarragon wasamong the so-called 'simples', one-remedy herbs, used by Hippocrates.European gardeners knew tarragon in the Middle Ages, but it wasn'tuntil the end of those dark times that it leaped the English Channel.It entered England during the Tudor reign probably as a preferredgift for the royal herb garden from the Continental monarch. For manyyears, tarragon was relatively unknown outside the royal garden. Itmust eventually have made good its escape, because it arrived on America'spost-Revolutionary shores in the first few years of the 19th century.
The common name probably is a corruption of the French esdragon,derived from the plant's Latin specific name dracunculus, a littledragon; p possibly so named because of its brown coiled roots resemblanceto a cluster of small, gnarled serpents.
In ancient times, it was thought that tarragon could draw venom frombites of snakes and insects and in treating the bite off a mad dog(Rabies).
Tarragon has a licorice flavor that is both sweet and slightly bitter.One of the important herbs in French cooking; indispensable. in bearnaisesauce.
Tarragon adds zest to herbal combinations used to make liqueurs.
Do not mistake Artemisia dracunculus (Tarragon) with Artemisia absinthium(Wormwood) which is poisonous. | | Sold : | As a spice in supermarkets |
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