Achillea ‘Moonshine’ (Yarrow)

This variety of yarrow is a cultivar, a cross between Achillea clypeolata and A. ‘Taygetea’. It was created in the 1950s by a guy named Alan Bloom. The flowers are bright lemon yellow.

Leaves: Feathery, fernlike, bi- and tripinnately divided, attached almost directly to the stem in a spiral pattern. Individual leaves are 1¾–8″ (5–20 cm) long. The leaves are the most obvious identifying characteristic.

Flowers: Flowers are yellow flat-topped or umbrella-shaped corymbs 3–4″ (7.6–10 cm) across. Each flower is a composite flower, about ¼″ (6.3 mm) in diameter, with three to eight ray petals and 10-40 disc flowers. Yarrows bloom from March to October.

Fruits: This variety does not spread on its own, so you will probably see it only in gardens.

8/1/2009 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 2 × 1½″ (5.9 × 3.9 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Achillea	Yarrows; “Achillea” means “Achilles,” who used the herb in battle

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Range: Zones 3-8:

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