Epazote leaf Chenopodium ambrosioides
LATIN NAME: Dysphania ambrosioides
COMMON NAME: Epazote
The epazote holds its narrow, toothed, aromatic leaves and the small, greenish flowers in the slender spikes, and the whole plant stands in the upright, leafy clumps. The upright, branching, annual or short-lived perennial plant carries the narrow, lance-shaped, coarsely toothed, aromatic, dark-green leaves and the small, greenish, petal-less flowers in the slender, branching spikes through the late summer, one of the fine, quiet sights of the herb garden, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, round, dark seeds. The leaves have a very long record as the fine, strong, aromatic herb of the warm tables, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the herb garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The epazote is a historic subject of the plant science, and the slender spikes keep showing up in the work on the aromatic herbs. The chemistry of the narrow, lance-shaped, coarsely toothed, aromatic leaves, which carry the fine, strong, aromatic oils of the warm kitchens, has been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the aromatic herbs, the strong leaves and the members of the amaranth family. The toothed leaves and the upright habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the epazote is a regular subject of the work on the slender spikes of the warm world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The epazote is a fine, quiet herb of the herb garden and the study collection. The narrow, lance-shaped, coarsely toothed, aromatic, dark-green leaves have a very long record as the fine, strong, aromatic herb of the warm tables, the fresh leaves coming to the beans, the stews and the egg dishes of the old kitchens, while the small, greenish, petal-less flowers in the slender, branching spikes open through the late summer, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, round, dark seeds. It is one of the fine choices for the herb garden, the warm bed and the study collection, and it has been written up in the culinary and the botanical papers for the strong leaves and the very long history. It is a fine, quiet herb of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained garden.
Give the young plants the deep, well-drained bed, and the aromatic leaves will fill the warm months.
To grow the epazote from seed, sow the small, brown seeds a little below the surface of the pot of rich, gritty soil, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings come through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the deep, well-drained ground, the aromatic leaves will fill the warm months.
Common name:Dysphania ambrosioides
Medicinal uses
Epazote is used as a leaf vegetable and herb for its pungent flavor and its claimed ability to prevent flatulence caused by eating beans but also in the treatment of amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, malaria, chorea, hysteria, catarrh, and asthma.
Oil of chenopodium is derived from this plant. It is antihelminthic, that is, it kills intestinal worms, and was once listed for this use in the US Pharmacopoeia. It is also cited as an antispasmodic and abortifacient – the first birth control pills were derived from research on epazote.