Artemisia maritima is a strongly aromatic, herbaceous perennial plant growing from a short, usually branching, woody rootstock. The plant produces a mat of non-flowering rosettes of leaves on short branches, plus one to many, more or less woody, flowering stems 20 to 50cm tall.

The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. The leaves and flowering shoots are anthelmintic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, emmenagogue, febrifuge, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, and vermifuge. The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and is dried for later use. The growing shoots are said to repel insects and mice, they have also been used as a strewing herb. An infusion is said to discourage slugs and insects.