Lippia alba: Oaxaca lemon verbena
It all started with a little tour of his back yard.
He’s an aging Greek professor and doesn’t like lawn, so his back yard is a tangle of edible plants…. incredibly strong basil from Greece, pineapples started from tops, an olive tree with one very proud olive.
Lippia alba
“Here” he said, breaking some branches off a bush as round as it was tall, ‘the leaves make a great lemon tea.” He paused and emphasized it: “A really good tea.” I didn’t know it at the moment but that little exchange typified the schism in the plant world between those who use a plant and those who wonder what it is.
Years later I have five bushes of “it.” The question, of course, was and is, “what is “it” since my friend’s association with botany does not extend beyond consumption. It was clearly in the same greater collective as the American Beautyberry and the Lantana in my yard, which are both in the verbena family. The leaf shape, growth habit, and exotic oils was consistent with that family, but that’s a huge family.
“Where did you get it?” I asked him on another visit. From his neighbor he said. “Which one” I asked. “The Cuban,” he said. That was some help. It was doubtful this plant was from Sweden or the like. “Where did he get?” I asked. The answer was not encouraging: A shrug of the shoulders. Maybe Sweden wasn’t ruled out.
My first near success was to find on the internet a picture of a Lippia alba var. globiflora. That looked promising. I found it while looking for “Cuba and verbena.” At least I had the family, genus and species right. The variation is still debatable.
Lippia alba (LIP-pee-uh AL-buh) is one of those plants that was found when it wasn’t really lost, and then was lost but not by those who use it then found again by those who don’t use it. That’s kind of how my friend and I related to this plant. This past year he’s been pleasantly drinking tea made from the leaves. What the plant is, is not relevant to him or his plant. If I never figure out exactly what the bush is makes no difference to him. He likes the tea. That’s the same situation when researchers work on a plant and then leave for a century only to come back and rediscover the same plant the locals kept right on using.
The botanical name contains some intrigue as well. Alba means white. Lippia honors Italian naturalist Dr. Agostino Lippi, 1678 -1704 (some call him a French traveller.) But more than that it is a genus of plants that has aromatic oils and Lippia can also be the feminine form of Lipos, the Greek word for fat. It is perhaps a double entendre or a convenient naming.
If one does an internet search on Lippia alba one learns that it has been the subject of a lot of research, reported in 2007. It clearly has been discovered. Its oils are antibiotic, antioxidants, and sedative, not inducing sleep but increasing the length of sleep. It also helps prevent ulcers…. I was beginning to understand why my friend was so relaxed all the time. And indeed, I may never figure out which Lippia alba it is, if it is one. All I really know is it makes a nice tea…Perhaps that is all I need to know. Perhaps that is all we ever really need to know. Humanity got along fine without botanists, or nutritionists.
Now, pardon me, but I have to put some tea water on to heat….
Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile
IDENTIFICATION: Very aromatic shrub, three to six feet, branches slender, tends to sprawl, leaves heavily veined, hairy with strong lemon smell, leaves slightly hairy, oval to oblong, serrate, small flowers purple to violet, pink or white in leaf axils. Lower branches can put down roots.
TIME OF YEAR: Leaves year round
ENVIRONMENT: Grows in most soil and can tolerate some shade, naturalized in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, Native to Mexico to Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina as well as Colombia.
METHOD OF PREPARATION: Leaves as tea, fresh or dried. The bush has a multitude of herbal/medicinal uses. It is a sedative, menstrual aid, and anti-hypertensive, among many things.
Hi! Can you please tell me if you know where I can buy alba lippia tea? My daughter suffers from terrible migraines and was recently told about the benefit of this tea.
Thank You!
Where do you live? I could send a clipping. They sprout easily. As for buying the tea, I would try hispanic markets.
This comment was ages ago, but how do I get my hands on some? I live near(ish) you, on the other side of the state.
Depends…. where do you live?
May I please have some Lippia Alba cuttings sent in the mail? Kansas, USA
Or where could I purchase a whole plant? Thank you!
Hello. I have been trying to find lippia alba. I found your site I was wondering if you sell plants
Hi Greene Deane,
I’ve searched all over and can’t find this. We live near tampa. Could I please buy a few cuttings from you? I have a couple relatives of this plant that are like spicy oregano and marjoram, if you’d like cuttings of them. Thank you!!
I live in Virginia.
Hi, I love Eat The Weeds but for some reason keep having to sign up if I want to get it. I live in the Tampa Bay area and would like to also have a clipping of the lemon verbena. Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I am living in Costa Rica on a farm and we recently got some of “it” from a local neighbor. They call “it” Juanilama. I am curious how to plant, how much water/sun it needs (we are approaching the rainy season). Also if there are any/many pests that like it too? Do you prune it? So many questions, but we are so excited to have it and just planted a few stalks.
Thanks!!!!!
Hi! I would love to purchase a clipping or a plant of the Lippa Alba. I have been searching for since I got really used to drinking in the Caribbean. Which they lump in a category and call everything Bush Tea. I bought a plant from a place that said it was lippa alba but is something else in the same family. Smells like licorice instead of lemon. Looks the same though . I have not tried to drink it. I also have the lippa dulcensis. They all grow great in south texas. I hope you can help me out or point me in the right direction to be able to obtain plant.
Thanks,Shelley Clark
Thanks for writing… my smells more like juicy fruit gum than lemons.
I`m a bio-farmer in Suriname South-America. I produce tea from Lippia Alba and others. We call it Marva or Pijé Pijé Paw.
http://www.pikinsranan.net/cms/pages/bun-sani-bio-prod/100-bio-marva-thee-pije-pije-paw.php
This is not for commercial reason but to let you know that it`s a very good product. To me the Best Green Tea !!
hey, i was wondering if you have pin pointed the exact variety of Lippia alba by now,? please let me know.
Harry
This is a great article, the plant sounds amazing. How can I go about getting a small clipping to start in my garden? I would greatly appreciate any help or advice.
I’d love to buy a clipping or some seeds if possible! Thanks so much 🙂
hi,
i need some cutting or seed of lippia alba. can you help me?
thanks
in Puerto Rico Lippia Alba is known as Poleo- which is Spanish for penny royal. I have two varieties, one of which is citric smelling. I can only assume that there must be something in this plant that caused the early settlers here to name it after penny royal. Until proven otherwise, one should assume that this plant is as abortive as is penny royal. be careful.
Hello. I was also confused by the Spanish word Poleo. Lippia Alba is completely different to Pennyroyal. In fact Pennyroyal is toxic.
I’m confused. Is it different than common lemon verbena? I have that growing in the yard. I love to chew on the leaves, make tea, put crushed leaves in water or wine. I made a simple syrup out of it once. Very tasty. I love it.
Yes, it is different.
Please advise where I can purchase Lippia Alba tea or leaves. I live in Illinois and unable to locate
Hi, I’m looking for Lippia Alba. I can’t find it. I live in Houston. My husband used it in Costa Rica and it was wonderful to help with pain on his legs. Do you know we’re to get it. I appreciated it very much!
You can use
Miconia Albicans
Cordia Verbenacea
Ageratum conyzoide( the flowers canno’t be useds)
Sucupira seeds
1 bottle of wodka 50 grams of each plants
keep in the dark for 15 days, and them strain.
Keep in the darl bootle,
You can give him 3 desert spoon 3 times a day,
or 20 to 30 drops.
This is excellent to arthrites reumatoids
Hi All!!
I found a source for Lippia Alba, after two trips to Costa Rica, where it was given to me as an awesome expectorant (allergies were making me miserable) as well as an aid for migraines. I will put the link here, but the nursery is a small family run business in Oregon called One Green World. I got a 1 gallon pot for $20 (+ s/h which was a little on the high side until I saw how well it was packed, it arrived beautifully. The plant came at almost 3′ tall, a little spindly, but I know it will grow wonderfully here in Arizona. Check them out…they have nice stuff.
https://onegreenworld.com/product/pitiona-2/?attribute_pa_size=1-gallon
Also, if anyone has a clipping they would like to send me, I’d be very happy to have another plant (thinking that perhaps someone has a slightly different but complimentary variety?)
Thanks! -Laura
I know this is an old post, but do you have any idea where I could find this plant? I can’t find anyone selling it. We’re in Tampa.
I have it in my back yard. I don’t know if it grows from cuttings.
Could I pay you for a few cuttings? I have 2 relatives of this plant, and they start from cuttings very easily. I’m in Tampa.
Or when I am in the area you can just pick them up. Email me at GreenDeane@gmail.com.
I would also like a cutting! I live near Tampa. Ruskin is about a half-hour south.
For those having difficulty finding this plant, I was able to purchase some cuttings on Etsy from a guy based in Florida. I’m in Texas and bought my first cuttings in the dead of summer. They arrived looking pretty dried out and brown but every cutting still managed to root! It’s an amazing plant 🙂