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Asked by:
Raphael Cohen
Posted at:
January 27, 2025
I have had no response from my earlier message (see below), but I may have something new to add. A friend from Morocco has been kind enough to scan a few branches of the herb in questions to me. Here are some scans which I hope will make it easier to identify the variety.
I thank you in advance for your assistance.
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----- Original Message -----Sorry about the delay in responding to your message. The fault is mine because your original message was forwarded to me for comment by our horticulturist, Inge Poot, but unfortunately it went astray in my hands.
I have puchased several artemisia varieties from your company in search of= a species that grows in north africa (morocco) which I have so far failed to identify.
My first guess was that it would be the Artemisia afra species for which I bought some seeds but so far what has grown (they are still small), looks more like A. absynthium than what I am looking for.
Of all the varieties I have tried, the closest by far is Artemisia 'Powis Castle' which is a near identical looking plant, with a similar odour/fragrance. Can you tell me if you know of any other variety that very closely resembles Powis Castle in every aspect (size of leaves, colour, odour)?
As an example, 'Silver Bush' also resembles the plant but has no odour and the leaves are a little bit more delicate than the variety I am looking for. Tree wormwood has much larger leaves also.
The mystery variety is used in Morocco as an alternative to mint and thyme to flavor green tea and it is occasionaly imported by some stores here on Montreal. For some reason they only get it (import it) in the winter, and only cut branches – no roots.
The plant is known in Morroco as "shiba" (pronounced "sheebah").