ABSTRACT
Artemisia dracunculus L., French Tarragon, is a perennial herb, native to Europe, Russia, Siberia, China and western and central North America where it grows wild, especially along river banks. It was introduced to Britain in the mid-fifteenth century. This aromatic plant has an extensive fibrous root system which spreads by runners and stems which reach a maximum heigh of around 1 metre. The generic name is derived from the Greek Goddess Artemis who was believed to have given this group of plants to Chiron the centaur, while the specific name is derived from the Latin dracunculus meaning small dragon or snake, probably in reference to the long tongue-shaped leaves (Rodway, 1979). Its common name of tarragon is thought to be a corruption of the Arabic tarkhun also meaning a little dragon. French tarragon is used mainly as a culinary plant, although its value and popularity in cooking doubtless stems from it medicinal use as an aid to digestion whereby it can be taken as an infusion, or digestif, for poor digestion, intestinal distension, nausea, flatulence and hiccups, not to mention its claimed abilities to improve rheumatism, gout and arthritis as well as acting as a vermifuge and an agent to soothe toothache (Philips and Fox, 1990).
