Edible Plants of the World

Tarragon, French Tarragon, Russian tarragon

Tarragon, French Tarragon, Russian tarragon

It is a temperate plant. It does best in well drained soil and a sunny position. It cannot tolerate frost. In the Himalayas it grows between 2,700-4,700 m altitude. It is often in stony places. It suits hardiness zones 5-9. It the tropics it is grown in mountainous regions.

Also known as:

Dragon mugwort, Estragon, Pehtran, T'arkhuna

Synonyms

Edible Portion

Where does Tarragon grow?

Found in: Afghanistan, Africa, Alaska, Asia, Australia, Britain, Canada, Caucasus, Central Asia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Europe, France, Georgia, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mediterranean, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Africa, North America, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, SE Asia, Serbia, Siberia, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Tibet, Turkey, United States

Notes: There are about 300 Artemisia species.

Status: It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Growing Tarragon, French Tarragon, Russian tarragon

Cultivation: Plants are propagated from division of the root or by taking cuttings. It needs to be replanted every three years. This is best from tip cuttings. Seeds normally will not grow.

Edible Uses: CAUTION: The oil is poisonous. The oil can be extracted by oil distillation and used in flavouring. The leaves are used for their flavouring. They are used in salads, vegetable dishes, and for flavouring mayonnaise, jellies, vinegar and liqueurs. They are used to make alcoholic drinks. (Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer)

Production: The leaves can be dried and stored. Stems are cut and hung in a dark location with good air circulation then the leaves are removed after a few days.

Nutrition Info

per 100g edible portion

Edible Part Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (ug) Vitamin c (mg) Zinc (mg) % Water
Leaves - dried 296 22.8 32.3 420 50 3.9 7.7
Seeds - flavour - - - - - -

Tarragon, French Tarragon, Russian tarragon Photos

Tarragon, French Tarragon, Russian tarragon

References

Abbet, C., et al, 2014, Ethnobotanical survey on wild alpine food plants in Lower and Central Valais (Switzerland). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 151 (2014) 624–634

Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 55

Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 42

Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 104

Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 151

Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 140

Brouk, B., 1975, Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, London. p 329

Brown, D., 2002, The Royal Horticultural Society encyclopedia of Herbs and their uses. DK Books. p 133

Burnie, G & Fenton-Smith, J., 1999, A Grower's Guide to Herbs. Murdoch Books. p 68

Bussman, R. W., et al, 2016, A comparative ethnobotany of Khevsureti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Tusheti, Svaneti, and Racha-Lechkhumi, Republic of Georgia (Sakartvelo), Caucasus. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2016) 12:4

Bussman, R. W. et al, 2017, Ethnobotany of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 16(1) pp 7-24

Cheifetz, A., (ed), 1999, 500 popular vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts for Australian Gardeners. Random House p 118

Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 190

Ertug, F, Yenen Bitkiler. Resimli Türkiye Florası -I- Flora of Turkey - Ethnobotany supplement

Esperanca, M. J., 1988. Surviving in the wild. A glance at the wild plants and their uses. Vol. 2. p 270

Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 33

Hadfield, J., 2001, The A-Z of Vegetable Gardening in South Africa. Struik p 135

Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 74

Hemphill, I, 2002, Spice Notes. Macmillan. p 387

Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 33

Jackes, D. A., Edible Forest Gardens

Kays, S. J., and Dias, J. C. S., 1995, Common Names of Commercially Cultivated Vegetables of the World in 15 languages. Economic Botany, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 115-152 (As var. sativa)

Kiple, K.F. & Ornelas, K.C., (eds), 2000, The Cambridge World History of Food. CUP p 434, 1866

Kybal, J., 1980, Herbs and Spices, A Hamlyn Colour Guide, Hamlyn Sydney p 48

MacKinnon, A., et al, 2009, Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine. p 370

Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 105, 184

Miguel, E., et al, 1989, A checklist of the cultivated plants of Cuba. Kulturpflanze 37. 1989, 211-357

Mulherin, J., 1994, Spices and natural flavourings. Tiger Books, London. p 100

Obolskiy, D., Pischel, I., Feistel, B., Glotov, N., & Heinrich, M., 2011, Artemisia dracunculus L. (Tarragon): A critical review of its traditional use, chemical composition, pharmacology, and safety. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 59, pp. 11369-11380.

Petkova, N., et al, 2019, Fructans and antioxidants in leaves of culinary herbs from Asteraceae and Amaryllidaceae families. Food Research 3 (5) : 407 - 415

Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/

Polunin, O., & Stainton, A., 2006, Flowers of the Himalaya, Oxford India Paperbacks. p 194

Seidemann J., 2005, World Spice Plants. Economic Usage, Botany, Taxonomy. Springer. p 53

Sharma, L. et al, 2018, Diversity, distribution pattern, endemism and indigenous uses of wild edible plants in Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve of Indian Trans Himalaya. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. Vol 17(1) January 2018 pp 122-131

Sp. pl. 2:849. 1753

Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 154

Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 25

Urgamal, M., Oyuntsetseg, B., Nyambayar, D. & Dulamsuren, Ch. 2014. Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia. (Editors: Sanchir, Ch. & Jamsran, Ts.). Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “Admon“ Press. 334pp. (p. 199-230).

van Wyk, B., 2005, Food Plants of the World. An illustrated guide. Timber press. p 74

Wilson, S., 1997, Some Plants are Poisonous. Reed. p 23