Lippia graveolens

Mexican oregano ( Lippia graveolens; Spanish: hierba dulce ) is a plant from the family of the verbena family ( Verbenaceae ). The leaves are edible, smell like oregano and used in Mexican cuisine.

Description

Lippia gravolens is up to two meters high, slender shrub whose branches are covered with short, fine hairs. The leaves are long stems on 5 to 10 mm, are 2-4 cm long, oblong to elliptic or ovate to ovate - oblong. The blade tip is blunt or rounded, rarely acuminate, the leaf base is rounded or almost cordate. The upper leaf surface with soft, short, fine hairs, the lower leaf surface is covered with glandular hairs and feinfilzigen. The leaf margin is finely notched.

The spike-like inflorescences are in groups of two to six long in the axils of 4 to 12 mm inflorescence stems. They are almost spherical to elongated, 4-12 mm long, the bracts are available in four rows and are ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, glandular and densely covered with fine hairs. The calyx has a length of 1 to 2 mm is also hairy and glandular feinfilzig, the white corolla consists of a 3 to 6 mm long corolla tube and is hairy striegel hairy.

Occurrence and Habitat

The plant is common from southern Texas through Mexico to Nicaragua, where it grows at altitudes up to 350 meters on rocky slopes or in moist thickets.

Others

There are many species which are known as Mexican oregano. Lippia graveolens In addition, a white-flowered plant of the Verbenaceae family, you can also find pink flowering plants and Plectranthus amboinicus or Coleus aromaticus, the Cuban oregano is called. The leaves are used as a spice, especially in Mexico and Central America.

Ingredients

Contain the essential oils of Lippia graveolens

• 0-81 % thymol
• 0-48 % carvacrol
• 3-30 % p -cymene
• 0-15 % eucalyptol

Thymol and carvacrol are responsible for the oregano flavor similar