Sweet Annie’s Virtues
Sweet Annie, known in China as qing-hao, has been used in treating malaria and fever since the seventh century. Western herbalists, too, have used the plant for this purpose, and value it also for its effectiveness against diarrhea, indigestion, and certain bacterial diseases. In the past 20 years, scientists in Beijing have isolated a substance from sweet Annie (found only in this herb) which they have used to treat quinine-resistant malaria in thousands of patients, with nearly 100 percent success. Because allergic reactions are common, medicinal use of this herb should be undertaken only under the supervision of a qualified health practitioner.
Sweet Annie’s most common home use is in crafts. It works well as a base material in wreaths (see instructions below) and swags, and it’s an excellent filler in bouquets and arrangements. Long branches can be used whole or broken into smaller pieces, depending on the size of the arrangement. Handling dried sweet Annie can generate quite a bit of dust, but this will be minimized if you mist the branches with water before you start to work.
The fragrance of sweet Annie is more pronounced during humid weather. Some folk like to hang a bunch in a bathroom, where the damp air will release the fragrance. Crumbling the dried herb over a carpet before vacuuming is another way to enjoy its sweet scent.
Unfortunately, some people are allergic to sweet Annie, usually reacting with sharp headaches, sneezing, and sometimes skin irritation (the last usually from the fresh herb). If you’re among them, substitute Silver King (A. ludoviciana ‘Silver King’), a perennial artemisia with silver-gray foliage and a somewhat similar branch size and shape. It lacks sweet Annie’s appealing scent, but I find it a good alternative in many dried floral arrangements.
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