''Lippia alba'' is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to southern Texas in the United States, Mexico, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, Central America, and South America. In Ethiopia the plant is also known as Coseret and classified under herbal group. They use the plant leaf for preparing butter. The species is also present in Australia and India, where it is probably a human introduction. Common names include bushy matgrass, bushy lippia, hierba negra, juanilama, pamporegano, poleo and pitiona. It is a multi-branched

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, reaching a height of .

Leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

measure in length and in width and are opposite or in threes. Flowers with white, pink, or light blue-purple corollas form on spikes long.

Uses

Bushy lippia is widely cultivated as an

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

for its aromatic foliage and beautiful flowers. The

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

composition is unique to each plant, but may include piperitone, geranial, neral, caryophyllene,

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...

, eucalyptol, limonene, carvone, germacrene, α- guaiene, β- ocimene, linalool, or myrcene. The leaves are used for flavoring foods, such as mole sauces from Oaxaca, Mexico. The plant is used medicinally for its somatic, sedative, antidepressant, and analgesic properties.

References

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alba Garden plants of Central America Plants described in 1925 Garden plants Medicinal plants Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Central America Flora of Mexico Flora of South America Flora of Texas Flora without expected TNC conservation status Taxa named by N. E. Brown Taxa named by Philip Miller Taxa named by Nathaniel Lord Britton Taxa named by Percy Wilson {{verbenaceae-stub