''Phyla dulcis'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Lippia dulcis'') is a species of perennial herbaceous plant that is native to southern 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 ...

( Cuba,

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, and Puerto Rico), Central America,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, and Venezuela. It is known by several common names, including Aztec sweet herb, bushy lippia, honeyherb, hierba dulce, and ''tzopelic-xihuitl'' (

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

). Its buds are also sold as ''dushi'' or ''dulce'' (''sweet'' in

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

and Spanish respectively) buttons.

Uses

This plant has historically been used as a natural sweetener and medicinal herb in its native Mexico and parts of Central America. It was used by the Aztecs and introduced to the Spanish when they arrived. The sweet taste is caused by a sesquiterpene compound called

hernandulcin Hernandulcin is an intensely sweet chemical compound gained from the chiefly Mexican and South American plant ''Lippia dulcis''. History and origin In the 1570s, Spanish physician Francisco Hernández described a remarkably sweet plant known to ...

, which was discovered in 1985 and named for Francisco Hernández, the Spanish physician who first described the plant in the sixteenth century. Use of ''Phyla dulcis'' has not become widespread because it also contains high levels bitter compounds, especially

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 ...

References

External links

* * dulcis Sugar substitutes Flora of Central America Flora of Cuba Flora of Colombia Flora of the Dominican Republic Flora of Haiti Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Mexico Flora of Venezuela Native American cuisine Plants described in 1934 Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Verbenaceae-stub