Tarragon

Tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus, is a perennial herb in the daisy family Asteraceae, widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and cultivated for both culinary and medicinal use. The plant grows 120 to 150 centimeters tall with slender branches and narrow glossy green leaves 2 to 8 centimeters long, producing small yellow or greenish yellow flowers in clusters and spreading by rhizomatous roots. The subspecies Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa, known as French tarragon, is the preferred culinary variety, valued for its aromatic leaves in French cooking; it seldom produces flowers or seeds and so must be propagated by root division rather than by seed, unlike the less flavorful Russian tarragon.