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Artemisia lactiflora Wall. ex DC.

Family Name:	Asteraceae (Compositae)
Common Name:	Duck Food Vegetable, White Mugwort, 珍珠菜, 角菜, 白苞蒿

Full Sun

Moderate Water

Bee-Attracting Plant

Fruit or Vegetable

Ornamental Flowers

Creeper

Herbaceous Plant

Name

Family Name
Genus Epithet
Species Epithet
Name Authority
Name Status (botanical)
Common Names
Comments

Classifications and Characteristics

Plant Division	Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants) (Dicotyledon)
Plant Growth Form	Herbaceous Plant, Creeper
Lifespan (in Singapore)	Perennial

Mode of Nutrition	Autotrophic
Plant Shape	Shrubby
Maximum Height	1.5 m

Biogeography

Native Distribution	Eastern Asia
Preferred Climate Zone	Tropical, Sub-Tropical / Monsoonal

Description and Ethnobotany

Others - Plant Morphology	A perennial, upright and much branched shrub that can attain a height of about 1.5 m tall if allowed to grow. Most of the white mugwort plants seen in cultivation grow as a tuft consisting of several non-flowering, low lying rosettes probably due to frequent picking for food. Plants have smooth, slightly glossy, deeply cut leaves that are dark green in colour and are held via reddish purple petioles. The shape of the leaves somewhat shares some resemblence with a duck’s webbed foot. It produces off-white, milky coloured flowers that are borne on plumes.Better grown under semi-shaded and cool conditions and protected from direct tropical sunshine. Grow in well-draining, fertile soil that is constanly kept moist but not soggy. Propagation by means of seeds, stem-cuttings or division. Because seeds are not readily available, the most practical way is to stick a stem tip cutting into a pot of soil obtained from the material bought from the market or taken from an established plant. For each stem cutting, ensure there are several nodes to allow rooting. Crowded, mature clumps can also be dug up, split and planted separately. Newly propagated plants should be given shade and kept moist to take root and recuperate.Plants tend to become straggly and unproductive after repeated harvests.
Ethnobotanical Uses	Edible Plant Parts : Edible Leaves Food (Fruit or Vegetable) Others: Leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable in a variety of fish dishes to mask the fishy odour. White mugwort is a bitter aromatic tonic herb. The leaves and flowering stems are used internally in traditional Chinese medicine to treat menstrual and liver disorders.

Others - Plant Morphology

A perennial, upright and much branched shrub that can attain a height of about 1.5 m tall if allowed to grow. Most of the white mugwort plants seen in cultivation grow as a tuft consisting of several non-flowering, low lying rosettes probably due to frequent picking for food. Plants have smooth, slightly glossy, deeply cut leaves that are dark green in colour and are held via reddish purple petioles. The shape of the leaves somewhat shares some resemblence with a duck’s webbed foot. It produces off-white, milky coloured flowers that are borne on plumes.Better grown under semi-shaded and cool conditions and protected from direct tropical sunshine. Grow in well-draining, fertile soil that is constanly kept moist but not soggy. Propagation by means of seeds, stem-cuttings or division. Because seeds are not readily available, the most practical way is to stick a stem tip cutting into a pot of soil obtained from the material bought from the market or taken from an established plant. For each stem cutting, ensure there are several nodes to allow rooting. Crowded, mature clumps can also be dug up, split and planted separately. Newly propagated plants should be given shade and kept moist to take root and recuperate.Plants tend to become straggly and unproductive after repeated harvests.

Ethnobotanical Uses

Edible Plant Parts : Edible Leaves
Food (Fruit or Vegetable)
Others: Leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable in a variety of fish dishes to mask the fishy odour. White mugwort is a bitter aromatic tonic herb. The leaves and flowering stems are used internally in traditional Chinese medicine to treat menstrual and liver disorders.

Landscaping Features

Desirable Plant Features	Ornamental Flowers
Landscape Uses	Container Planting

Fauna, Pollination and Dispersal

Fauna Pollination Dispersal Associated Fauna	Bee-Attracting

Plant Care and Propagation

Light Preference	Full Sun
Water Preference	Moderate Water
Plant Growth Rate	Moderate

Rootzone Tolerance	Fertile Loamy Soils, Well-Drained Soils
Maintenance Requirements	Moderate
Propagation Method	Seed, Stem Cutting, Division

Foliar

Mature Foliage Colour(s)	Green
Mature Foliage Texture(s)	Smooth, Glossy / Shiny
Foliar Type	Simple / Unifoliate

Foliar Arrangement Along Stem	Alternate
Foliar Margin	Pinnately Lobed / Pinnatifid, Serrate / Toothed
Typical Foliar Area	Microphyll ( 2.25cm2 - 20.25 cm2 )
Leaf Area Index (LAI) for Green Plot Ratio	4.5 (Shrub & Groundcover - Dicot)

Non - Foliar and Storage

Stem Type & Modification	Woody
Root Type	Underground (Fibrous Root)

Floral (Angiosperm)

Flower & Plant Sexuality	Bisexual Flowers
Flower Colour(s)	White
Inflorescence Type	Panicle

Image Repository

Images

Others

Master ID	391
Species ID	1687
Flora Disclaimer	The information in this website has been compiled from reliable sources, such as reference works on medicinal plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and NParks does not purport to provide any medical advice. Readers should always consult his/her physician before using or consuming a plant for medicinal purposes.