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A.Vogel plant encyclopaedia

Achillea millefolium L.

Yarrow

According to Pliny, the Latin word achillea is derived from the Greek achilleía and refers to Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War. Achilles was instructed in the art of healing by the centaur, Chiron, and is supposed to have used medicinal plants to heal his warriors.

Millefolium is a borrowed translation of the Greek word myrióphyllon, which means ‘bearing  numerous leaves’. The name is mentioned as early as Pliny and Dioscorides. In English, the name Yarrow is traced through the Old High German Garwa or Garwe, which may mean ‘the provided‘, or ’the healer’ from the Old English gearwe.