Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Black yarrow is a small alpine plant, Achillea atrata. In German it is called Schwarze Schafgarbe. It grows on limestone scree and rocky slopes high in the Alps.
It is a close cousin of common yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Alpine households used the dried flowering tops as a bitter tea. The herb also flavoured mountain spirits and herbal liqueurs.
Here is the honest verdict. There are no human trials on Achillea atrata itself. Almost everything written about it borrows from its better-studied relatives.
Long traditional use tells you people valued the plant. It does not tell you the plant works, and it does not tell you it is safe. That point applies to every section below.
No one has shown what black yarrow does inside the human body. The ideas below come from laboratory work on other Achillea species.
In test tubes, yarrow extracts slow some bacteria and calm markers of inflammation. Whether that happens in a person drinking tea is not known.
In animal studies, yarrow oils appear to relax gut muscle. This is the usual explanation offered for the old digestive teas. It has not been tested in people.
The bitter taste itself may play a part. Bitter herbs can prompt saliva and stomach juices. That effect is real for bitters in general, but it has not been measured for this species.
Some Achillea species contain small amounts of thujone, a nerve-active compound. The amount in black yarrow is poorly documented. That gap is one reason to treat the plant with care rather than confidence.
Black yarrow is rarely sold on its own. You are most likely to meet it inside something else.
- Dried flowering tops, as a loose herbal tea - An ingredient in alpine herbal liqueurs, bitters and schnapps - Part of mixed mountain-herb tea blends - Occasionally a tincture (an alcohol extract) from small alpine producers - Rarely, a folk salve or compress for skin
Most products that say "yarrow" contain common yarrow, Achillea millefolium, not this species. Check the Latin name on the label. Wild picking is not a safe substitute, and in parts of the Alps it is also illegal.
Black yarrow belongs to Alpine folk practice in Austria, Switzerland, Bavaria and northern Italy. Records of its use are regional and patchy.
Herders and mountain families brewed the dried tops as a bitter stomach tea. It was taken after heavy food and in cases of cramping or poor appetite.
The herb was also steeped in spirits. These alpine bitters were drunk as a digestive and sold to visitors.
Like other yarrows, it had a reputation as a wound herb. Crushed leaves were laid on cuts and grazes. Field hygiene of that era was poor, and this is not a practice to copy.
In several Alpine regions the plant is now protected. Collecting it from the wild may carry a fine.
Stop using it and get urgent help if you have swelling of the lips, face or throat, a widespread rash, or trouble breathing. These can mean a serious allergic reaction.
Stop and see a doctor if you get a skin rash, bad stomach pain, or vomiting.
See a doctor rather than self-treating if your indigestion is new, lasts more than two weeks, or comes with weight loss, black stools or trouble swallowing. See a doctor about period pain that stops you working, and about any wound that is red, hot or oozing.
Black yarrow is not licensed as a medicine in the EU, the UK or the US. It is not a common supplement, and it is not an approved food ingredient on its own. In Austria, Switzerland and Bavaria, alpine Achillea species are protected, and picking them from the wild can bring a fine.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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