Achillea millefolium hort.

A perennial of the Asteraceae family, Achillea millefolium is a species with a very wide natural distribution, present in almost all of Europe, temperate Asia, and North America, where it colonizes meadows, roadsides, and embankments, from plains to mountain levels.

The horticultural forms selected from this species form upright clumps of 40 to 80 cm, with finely pinnate, deeply cut foliage, ranging from medium green to dark green, aromatic when crushed. The foliage is often as decorative as the flowering.

It is by the palette of colors of their corymbs that these cultivars distinguish themselves from the wild species, naturally white to very slightly pink: the horticultural selections cover a spectrum ranging from pure white to sulfur yellow, soft pink, carmine red, blood red, and orange-red, often with a change in hue over the course of flowering. The flattened and dense corymbs, borne on rigid stems, are characteristic of the genus.

Flowering extends from June to September, with a possible resurgence after cutting. In cultivation, full sun and well-drained soil are sufficient. Robust, undemanding, and very honey-producing, it is suitable for mixed borders, prairie gardens, and naturalistic compositions.