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Absinthe -
Also Known As: GREEN GINGER.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCALES: all over the world, from the US to
Siberia
HABITAT: Roadsides, waste places, and near the sea.
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION: The herb is a silky perennial
plant supported by a woody rootstock producing many bushy stems that grow two to
four feet in height. The stems are whitish covered closely with fine silk hairs.
The leaves are hairy also, shaped with many blunt lobs of irregular symmetry.
The flowers are small with globular heads of greenish-yellow color that are
arranged on an erect leafy flower stem. The Leaves and the flowers have a very
bitter taste and characteristic color.
CHEMISTRY: Absinthe (a dimerism guaranolide) is the
principle agent, anabsinthin and thiyone (a volatile oil) are also present.
Absinthine is listed as a narcotic analgesic in the same group as codeine and
dextromethorphan hydrobromide (Romilar).
PRIMARY EFFECTS: Narcotic-analgesic. It depresses the
central medullary part of the brain, the area concerned with pain and anxiety.
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