Wormwood is a weedy perennial herb in the daisy family distributed throughout Europe, Asia and eastern North America. Together with hyssop and sweet Melissa, the herb is an ingredient and primary flavoring agent in the alcoholic beverage known as absinthe. It is also used to flavor vermouth.
For reasons too complex to go into here, wormwood has received a bad “rep” in terms of toxicity. While it is true that the plant contains thujone, which is toxic at high doses, the concentration of this chemical in the plant is relatively low. Also, the US-imposed ban on absinthe in the early 1900s had more to do with the toxic effects of the high alcohol content of the drink (up to 144% proof!) and not wormwood as an ingredient. Still, commonsense caution about the consumption of this herb is advised.
