Mexican Tea Dysphania ambrosioides

How to sow Mexican Tea: Direct seed outdoors, thin to 15cm

Sun requirement for Mexican Tea: Plant in Full Sun

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Epazote is an annual or short-lived perennial herb native to Central and South America that is grown for culinary and medicinal uses. The serrated leaves grow in a radial pattern from a central, upright stem, and the plant has small green flowers. Leaves are used as a vegetable, herb, and to make teas. It is used to season a variety of traditional Mexican dishes, and is often added to black beans because it has a gas-relieving effect. Like cilantro, Epazote has a pungent, polarizing taste that is described in a variety of ways: like oregano, anise, and fennel, or - on the opposite end of the spectrum - like turpentine, gasoline, or creosote. Medicinally, a tea made from the leaves is used to treat intestinal parasites. Epazote can also be used as a companion plant: it contains terpene compounds, which have natural pesticidal properties, and it’s pungent odor can mask the scent of nearby plants to certain insects. Epazote readily self-sows and can become invasive if not properly managed.