1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Agrimony

AGRIMONY (from the Lat. agrimonia, a transformation of ἀργεμώνη, a word of unknown etymology), a slender perennial herb (botanical name, Agrimonia Eupatoria, natural order Rosaceae), 11/2 to 3 ft. high, growing in hedge-banks, copses and borders of fields. The leafy stem ends in spikes of small yellow flowers. The flower-stalk becomes recurved in the fruiting stage, and the fruit bears a number of hooks which enable it to cling to rough objects, such as the coat of an animal, thus ensuring distribution of the seed. The plant is common in Britain and widely spread through the north temperate region. The underground woody stem is astringent and yields a yellow dye.

The name has been unsystematically given to several other plants; for instance: bastard, Dutch, hemp or water agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum); noble or three-leaved agrimony (Anemone hepatica); water agrimony (Bidens); and wild agrimony (Potentilla anserina).