Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a slim, upright perennial of the daisy and wormwood family whose narrow, glossy, willow-like leaves carry a distinctive sweet anise-and-licorice aroma laced with a faint green pepperiness. It is one of the four classic French fines herbes and the herb that defines béarnaise sauce, sauce gribiche and the bright, herbal lift of a roast chicken or an omelette. The prized culinary form is French tarragon, an aromatic clone propagated only by cuttings, while the coarser, easily seed-grown Russian tarragon is hardier but nearly tasteless — a distinction that trips up many a gardener.