| Dysphania ambrosioides | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Dysphania |
| Species: | D. ambrosioides |
| Binomial name | |
| Dysphania ambrosioides | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Dysphania ambrosioides, formerly Chenopodium ambrosioides, known as epazote, Jesuit's tea, Mexican tea [2] or wormseed, [3] is an annual or short-lived perennial herb native to the Americas.
Dysphania ambrosioides is an annual or short-lived perennial herb, growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall, irregularly branched, with oblong-lanceolate leaves up to 12 cm (4+1⁄2 in) long. The flowers are small and green, produced in a branched panicle at the apex of the stem.
As well as in its native areas, it is grown in warm temperate to subtropical areas of Europe and the United States (Missouri, New England, Eastern US), [4] sometimes becoming an invasive weed.
Epazote essential oil contains ascaridole (up to 70%), limonene, p-cymene, and smaller amounts of numerous other monoterpenes and monoterpene derivatives ( α-pinene , myrcene, terpinene, thymol, camphor and trans-isocarveol). Ascaridole (1,4-peroxido-p-menth-2-ene) is rather an uncommon constituent of spices; another plant owing much of its character to this monoterpene peroxide is boldo. Ascaridole is slightly toxic and has a pungent, not very pleasant flavor. In pure form, ascaridole decomposes violently upon heating, but this is relatively weak in regards to energy release, since breaking the oxygen bond will not destroy the entire molecule. [5] Ascaridole content is lower in epazote from Mexico than in epazote grown in Europe or Asia. [6]
The species was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Chenopodium ambrosioides. [7] Some researchers treated it as a highly polymorphic species with several subspecies. Today these are considered as their own species within genus Dysphania (e.g. American wormseed, Chenopodium ambrosioides var. anthelminticum is now accepted as Dysphania anthelmintica ). [8] [9]
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 Chenopodiumsensu lato is now evident. [10]
The specific epithet ambrosioides refers to the plant's resemblance to unrelated plants of the genus Ambrosia , in the aster family.
The common Spanish name epazote (sometimes spelled and pronounced ipasote or ypasote) is derived from the Nahuatl word epazōtl (pronounced [eˈpasoːt͡ɬ] ).
Humans have died from overdoses of D. ambrosioides essential oils (attributed to the ascaridole content). Symptoms include severe gastroenteritis with pain, vomiting, and diarrhea., [11] dizziness, headache, temporary deafness, kidney and liver damage, convulsions, paralysis, death. [12]
Ideally collected before going to seed, D. ambrosioides is used as a leaf vegetable, herb, and herbal tea [13] for its pungent flavor. Raw, it has a resinous, medicinal pungency, similar to oregano, anise, fennel, or even tarragon, but stronger. The fragrance of D. ambrosioides is strong and unique. [13] A common analogy is to turpentine or creosote. It has also been compared to citrus, savory, and mint.
Although it is traditionally used with black beans for flavor and its antiflatulent properties, [13] it is also sometimes used to flavor other traditional Mexican dishes: it can be used to season quesadillas and sopes (especially those containing huitlacoche), soups, mole de olla, tamales with cheese and chili peppers, chilaquiles, eggs and potatoes, esquites, and enchiladas. It is often used as an herb in fried white rice, and it is an important ingredient for making the green salsa for chilaquiles.
The essential oils of D. ambrosioides contain terpene compounds, some of which have natural pesticide capabilities. [14] The compound ascaridole in epazote inhibits the growth of nearby species, so it is best to grow it at a distance from other plants. [15]
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.
Oregano is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Tarragon, also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes.
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus Amaranthus. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it the most species-rich lineage within its parent order, Caryophyllales.
Coleus amboinicus, synonym Plectranthus amboinicus, is a semi-succulent perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae with a pungent oregano-like flavor and odor. Coleus amboinicus is considered to be native to parts of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and India, although it is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in the tropics where it is used as a spice and ornamental plant. Common names in English include Indian borage, country borage, French thyme, Indian mint, Mexican mint, Cuban oregano, broad leaf thyme, soup mint, Spanish thyme. The species epithet, amboinicus refers to Ambon Island, in Indonesia, where it was apparently encountered and described by João de Loureiro (1717–1791).
The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included – together with other subfamilies – in the family Chenopodiaceae, or goosefoot family, in the Cronquist system.
Chenopodium is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoot, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classification systems, notably the widely used Cronquist system, separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but this leaves the rest of the Amaranthaceae polyphyletic. However, among the Amaranthaceae, the genus Chenopodium is the namesake member of the subfamily Chenopodioideae.
Peumus boldus, commonly known as boldo, is a species of tree in the family Monimiaceae and the only species in the genus Peumus. It is endemic to the central region of Chile, between 33° and 40° southern latitude. Boldo has also been introduced to Europe and North Africa, though it is not often seen outside botanical gardens.
Ascaridole is a natural organic compound classified as a bicyclic monoterpenoid that has an unusual bridging peroxide functional group. It is a colorless liquid with a pungent smell and taste that is soluble in most organic solvents. Like other low molecular weight organic peroxides, it is unstable and prone to rapid decomposition when heated or treated with organic acids. Ascaridole determines the specific flavor of the Chilean tree boldo and is a major constituent of the oil of Mexican tea (wormseed). It is a component of natural medicine, tonic drinks and food flavoring in Latin American cuisine. As part of the oil, ascaridole is used as an anthelmintic drug that expels parasitic worms from plants, domestic animals and the human body.
Monoterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of two isoprene units and have the molecular formula C10H16. Monoterpenes may be linear (acyclic) or contain rings (monocyclic and bicyclic). Modified terpenes, such as those containing oxygen functionality or missing a methyl group, are called monoterpenoids. Monoterpenes and monoterpenoids are diverse. They have relevance to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agricultural, and food industries.
Thujene is a natural organic compound classified as a monoterpene. It is found in the essential oils of a variety of plants, and contributes pungency to the flavor of some herbs such as Summer savory.
Dysphania atriplicifolia is species of flowering plant known by the common names winged pigweed, tumble ringwing, plains tumbleweed, and tumble-weed. This plant is native to central North America, but it is spreading and has been occasionally reported in far-flung areas from California to Maine to the Canadian prairie. It is considered an introduced species outside of central North America. This is a bushy annual herb forming a rounded pale green clump which may exceed 0.5 m in height. It is very intricately branched, with toothed leaves occurring near the base. The spreading stems bear widely spaced flowers are small immature fruits fringed with a nearly transparent membranous wing. In autumn, the plant forms a tumbleweed. The fruit is a utricle about 2 millimeters long containing a single seed.
Dysphania melanocarpa, commonly known as black crumbweed, is an annual herb that grows in arid and semi-arid regions of Australia.
Artemisia cina, commonly known as santonica, Levant wormseed, and wormseed, is an Asian species of herbaceous perennial in the daisy family. Its dried flowerheads are the source of the vermifugic drug santonin since ancient times. Its common names arise from its known ability to expel worms. The powder is grayish-green in colour with an aromatic odour and a bitter taste. Dysphania ambrosioides is another plant with the common name wormseed, called epazote in Mexican cuisine.
Wormseed is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
Spinacia is a flowering plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. The most common member is spinach.
Chenopodium incognitum is a species of annual flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is difficult to tell apart from Chenopodium hians and Chenopodium atrovirens is often synonymized with one of those species by botanical authorities.
Dysphania is a genus of plants in the family Amaranthaceae. Species of the genus are found worldwide from the tropics and subtropics to warm-temperate regions.
Oxybasis glauca, common name oak-leaved goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot plant native to Europe. It has been introduced and become an invasive weed in North America. This invader of European origin also appears in trampled communities in North Korea.
Lipandra polysperma, common name manyseed goosefoot, is the only species of the monotypic plant genus Lipandra from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae.
Dysphania pusilla, formerly Chenopodium pusillum, otherwise known as pygmy goosefoot or parahia in Māori, is a prostrate herb endemic to the north-eastern parts of South Island, New Zealand. Presumed extinct after 56 years without recorded observations, the species was rediscovered in 2015.
YouTube video name: 'Epazote: Organic Peroxides from a Plant'
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
