{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the rose family}} {{for|the Swedish band|Agrimonia (band)}} {{Distinguish|Argemone}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Agrimonia eupatoria - Keila.jpg |image_caption = ''Agrimonia eupatoria'' |display_parents = 3 |taxon = Agrimonia |authority = Tourn. ex L. |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = About 15 species; see text }}
'''''Agrimonia''''' (from the Greek {{lang|grc|ἀργεμώνη}}),<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Agrimony|volume=1|page=424}}</ref> commonly known as '''agrimony''', is a genus of 12–15 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae,<ref name=EB1911/> native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with one species also in Africa. The species grow to between {{convert|0.5–2|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, with interrupted pinnate leaves, and tiny yellow flowers borne on a single (usually unbranched) spike.
''Agrimonia'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including grizzled skipper (recorded on ''A. eupatoria'') and large grizzled skipper.
==Species== *''Agrimonia eupatoria'' – Common agrimony (Europe, Asia, Africa) *''Agrimonia gryposepala'' – Common agrimony, tall hairy agrimony (North America) *''Agrimonia incisa'' – Incised agrimony (North America) *''Agrimonia coreana'' – Korean agrimony (eastern Asia) *''Agrimonia microcarpa'' – Smallfruit agrimony (North America) *''Agrimonia nipponica'' – Japanese agrimony (eastern Asia) *''Agrimonia parviflora'' – Harvestlice agrimony (North America) *''Agrimonia pilosa'' – Hairy agrimony (eastern Europe, Asia) *''Agrimonia procera'' – Fragrant agrimony (Europe) *''Agrimonia pubescens'' – Soft or downy agrimony (North America) *''Agrimonia repens'' – Short agrimony (southwest Asia) *''Agrimonia rostellata'' – Beaked agrimony (North America) *''Agrimonia striata'' – Roadside agrimony (North America)
==Uses== In ancient times, it was used for foot baths and tired feet.<ref name="C. F. Leyel">{{cite book|title=Compassionate Herbs|publisher=Faber and Faber Limited|url=https://archive.org/stream/compassionateher033486mbp#page/n7/mode/2up|author=C. F. Leyel|year=1946 }}</ref> Agrimony has a long history of medicinal use. The English poet Michael Drayton once hailed it as an "all-heal" and through the ages it was considered a panacea.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} The ancient Greeks used agrimony to treat eye ailments, and it was made into brews for diarrhea and disorders of the gallbladder, liver, and kidneys.<ref>Galen (Κλαύδιος Γαληνός), ''De methodo medendi'' 13.920K. {{doi|10.4159/DLCL.galen-method_medicine.2011}}.</ref> The Anglo-Saxons boiled agrimony in milk and used it to improve erectile performance.<ref>Lacey, R. and Danziger, D. (1999) ''In The Year 1000'' London: Little, Brown & Co, p. 126</ref> They also made a solution from the leaves and seeds for healing wounds; this use continued through the Middle Ages and afterward, in a preparation called ''eau d'arquebusade'', or "musket-shot water".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grieve |first1=Margaret |title=A Modern Herbal |date=1931 |publisher=Hafner Pub |pages=Agrimony |edition=Hypertext version |url=https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/agrim015.html |access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref> It has been added to tea as a spring tonic.<ref name="C. F. Leyel"/> According to the German Federal Commission E (Phytotherapy)-Monograph "''Agrimony''", published 1990, the internal application area is "mild, nonspecific, acute diarrhea" and "inflammation of oral and pharyngeal mucosa" and the external application "mild, superficial inflammation of the skin".<ref name="Commission E">German Federal Commission E Monographs (Phytotherapy): [https://www.heilpflanzen-welt.de/commission-e-0001/ Monograph ''Agrimony'' (''Agrimoniae herba'')]. Bundesanzeiger. March 13, 1990. – ''www.heilpflanzen-welt.de''.</ref>
==Folklore== Traditional British folklore states that if a sprig of ''Agrimonia eupatoria'' was placed under a person's head, they would sleep until it was removed.<ref>''Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine: Old World and New World Traditions'' by Gabrielle Hatfield, p.310</ref>
==See also== * ''Aremonia agrimonoides'' (Bastard-agrimony, of the related genus ''Aremonia'') * ''Eupatorium cannabinum'' (Hemp-agrimony)
==References== {{Reflist}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Eriksson |first1=Torsten |first2=Malin S. |last2=Hibbs |first3=Anne D. |last3=Yoder |first4=Charles F. |last4=Delwiche |first5=Michael J. |last5=Donoghue |title=The Phylogeny of Rosoideae (Rosaceae) Based on Sequences of the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA and the TRNL/F Region of Chloroplast DNA |journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |volume=164 |issue=2 |pages=197–211 |year=2003 |doi=10.1086/346163 |bibcode=2003IJPlS.164..197E |s2cid=22378156 }}
==External links== {{Commons}} {{Wikibooks|Horticulture|Agrimonia}} * [https://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2891678 ''Agrimonia'' L.]—''Atlas of Living Australia'' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20220929155429/https://herbforum.org/threads/agrimony-agrimonia-eupatoria-pilosa-grysopetela-and-other-species.324/ "Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria, pilosa, grysopetela and other species)"]—Herb Forum
{{Taxonbar|from=Q264427}}
Category:Agrimonia Category:Agrimoniinae Category:Medicinal plants Category:Rosaceae genera Category:Taxa named by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort