wormwood

Hebrew: la'anah

the Artemisia herba-alba or Artemisia absinthium of botanists

It is noted for its intense bitterness (Deuteronomy 29:18; Proverbs 5:4; Jeremiah 9:15; Amos 5:7). It is a type of bitterness, affliction, remorse, punitive suffering.

In Amos 6:12 this Hebrew word is rendered “hemlock” (Revised King James Version, “wormwood”). In the symbolical language of the Apocalypse (Rev. 8:10-11) a star or angel is represented as falling on the waters of the Earth, causing the third part of the water to turn wormwood.

The name by which the Greeks designated it, absinthion, means “undrinkable.” The absinthe of France is distilled from a species of this plant. The “southernwood” or “old man,” cultivated in cottage gardens on account of its fragrance, is another species of it.