Four kinds of wormwood are found in Palestine-- Artemisia nilotica , A. Judaica , A. fructicosa and A. cinerea . The word occurs frequently in the Bible, and generally in a metaphorical sense. In ( Jeremiah 9:15 ; 23:15 ; Lamentations 3:15 Lamentations 3:19 ) wormwood is symbolical of bitter calamity and sorrow; unrighteous judges are said to "turn judgment to wormwood." ( Amos 5:7 ) The Orientals typified sorrows, cruelties and calamities of any kind by plants of a poisonous or bitter nature.