Epasote

For tea epasote in Mexico, see Mexican tea culture. The flowers are small and green, produced in a branched panicle at the apex of the stem. The species was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Chenopodium ambrosioides.

Some researchers treated it as a highly polymorphic species with several subspecies. The generic name Dysphania was traditionally applied in the 1930s to some species endemic to Australia. Placement and rank of this taxon have ranged from a mere section within Chenopodium to the sole genus of a separate family, Dysphaniaceae, or a representative of the Illicebraceae. The close affinity of Dysphania to “glandular” species of Chenopodium sensu lato is now evident. The specific epithet ambrosioides refers to the plant’s resemblance to unrelated plants of the genus Ambrosia, in the aster family.

Ideally collected before going to seed, D. Humans have died from overdoses of D. Symptoms include severe gastroenteritis with pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The compound ascaridole in epazote inhibits the growth of nearby species, so it is best to grow it at a distance from other plants. Dysphania ambrosioides not only contains terpene compounds, but it also delivers partial protection to nearby plants simply by masking their scent to some insects, making it a useful companion plant. Its small flowers may also attract some predatory wasps and flies.

Tropicos – Name – Dysphania ambrosioides L. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 4: Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1. Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature’s Edibles. Commercial development of plant essential oils and their constituents as active ingredients in bioinsecticides”. 78:139, 1991, cited in Mueller, Cynthia W.