Wormwood, also called absinthe wormwood, is a member of the daisy family. Its botanical name is for Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the hunt, wild animals and childbirth and whose legend claims helped her own mother give birth to her twin brother, Apollo. The plant contains a chemical called thujone, an organic compound also found in conifers (i.e., juniper and cypress), oregano, tansy, sage and mugwort. Although the thujone content wormwood provided in absinthe was once credited for the liquor’s toxicity, it’s more likely that the alcohol content of the 90-to-148-proof beverage is more to blame. Still, the use of wormwood is generally limited to small quantities in herbal bitters.