Inside the Box: Chinese Mugwort Root

By Mai Wah board member Richard Gibson. Translation of artifact label by Siwen Liu; research by Curator Janna Norby.

The mugwort root in the Wah Chong Tai Mercantile is from the closing of the store in the 1940s when Charlie Bovey bought the contents and took everything to Nevada City. Most of the boxes and packages still hold their original contents. Loan from Montana Heritage Commission. MW L2010.01.333

艾根

Mugwort is a common weed in China, Artemisia vulgaris, a member of the daisy family. It is also known as Ai Ye, or moxa, and is used by acupuncturists in moxibustion—burning the plant on the end of a needle, often as a means of addressing things like colds, lung congestion, and chest pain. As an internal medicine, its primary use is in connection with menstrual problems, but traditional Chinese medicine also used it to help with nosebleeds, eczema, and warts, the latter due to its antifungal properties.

In traditional practice, mugwort is bitter, acrid, and warm, focusing on Liver, Spleen, and Kidney meridians.

In Guangdong province, where most of Butte’s Chinese came from, mugwort leaves and buds are served at meals as a vegetable. Glutinous rice cakes made from mugwort are treats during the Ching Ming Festival. During the summer Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu), people hang mugwort plants on their doors to ward off evil.

Leaves are the most common part of the plant to be prepared for medicinal purposes, but the roots, such as those in the collection, were also used in decoctions intended to relieve fatigue. The plant spreads through its roots, which end up as an intertwined mass, easy to harvest.

Photo by Richard Gibson; drawing at right of Artemisia vulgaris from a 19th-centrury botanical book, via Wikipedia.