Mexican Tea
Chenopodium ambrosioides
Family: Chenopodiaceae
What it is like
Chenopodium ambrosioides L. is a synonym of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants. This plant is now known as Dysphania ambrosioides.
Chenopodium ambrosioides is a ANNUAL/PERENNIAL growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 0.7 m (2ft 4in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Mainly found on dry wasteland and cultivated ground.
Tropical America. Naturalized in S. Europe.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Native to Mexico, and Central and South America. It has been actively introduced to be used as a culinary and aromatic herb, tea, and food commodity and currently can be found naturalized in Europe, the United States, the West Indies, Africa, Australia, Pacific Islands and Asia.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Leaves - cooked. The tender leaves are sometimes used as a potherb. Used as a condiment in soups etc, they are said to reduce flatulence if eaten with beans. The leaves have a rank taste due to the presence of resinous dots and sticky hairs. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Seed - cooked. The seed is small and fiddly, it should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins. An infusion of the leaves is a tea substitute.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 3
Mexican tea is a Central American herb that has been used for centuries to expel parasitic worms from the body. The whole plant is analgesic, antiasthmatic, carminative, stomachic and vermifuge. An infusion can be used as a digestive remedy, being taken to settle a wide range of problems such colic and stomach pains. Externally, it has been used as a wash for haemorrhoids, as a poultice to detoxify snake bites and other poisons and is thought to have wound-healing properties. Use with caution and preferably under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. This remedy should not be prescribed for pregnant women. See also the notes above on toxicity. Until fairly recently, this was one of the most commonly used vermifuges, though it has now been largely replaced by synthetic drugs. The seed, or an essential oil expressed from the seed, was used. It is very effective against most parasites, including the amoeba that causes dysentery, but is less effective against tapeworm. Fasting should not precede its use and there have occasionally been cases of poisoning caused by this treatment. The oil is used externally to treat athlete's foot and insect bites. One report says that it is an essential oil that is utilised. This is obtained from the seed or the flowering stems, it is at its highest concentration in the flowering stems before seed is set, these contain around 0.7% essential oil of which almost 50% is the active vermifuge ascaridol. The essential oil is of similar quality from plants cultivated in warm climates and those in cool climates. The leaves are added in small quantities as a flavouring for various cooked bean dishes because their carminative activity can reduce flatulence.
Analgesic: Relieves pain.
Antiasthmatic: Treats asthma.
Antifungal: An agent that inhibits or destroys fungi. Used in the treatment of various fungal problems such as candida.
Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.
Other
Rating: 3
The plant is used as a fumigant against mosquitoes and is also added to fertilizers to inhibit insect larvae. Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Insecticide: Kills insects.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent
How it is grown
An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade. It prefers a moderately fertile soil. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.2 to 8.3. Plants are annuals or short-lived perennials. They are not very hardy when grown outdoors in Britain and so are best grown as an annual. Plants have often self-sown freely in our Cornish trial grounds, but the seed often germinates in the autumn and then does not manage to survive the winter. This species is sometimes grown as a medicinal and culinary plant, especially in its native Mexico. The sub-species C. ambrosioides anthelminticum is more active medicinally and is the form most often cultivated for its vermicidal activity. The bruised leaves emit an unpleasant foetid odour. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water. The root pattern is fleshy. Thick or swollen - fibrous or tap root .
Propagating it: Seed - whilst it can be sown in situ in mid to late spring, we have had better results by sowing the seed in a cold frame in early spring. Put a few seeds in each pot and thin to the best plant if necessary. Germination rates are usually very good and the seedlings should appear within a few days of sowing the seed. Plant out in late spring, after the last expected frosts.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Annual/Perennial
Hardiness: 7-10
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
The essential oil in the seed and flowering plant is highly toxic. In excess it can cause dizziness, vomiting, convulsions and even death. The plant can also cause dermatitis or other allergic reactions. The leaves and seeds of all members of this genus are more or less edible. However, many of the species in this genus contain saponins, though usually in quantities too small to do any harm. Although toxic, saponins are poorly absorbed by the body and most pass straight through without any problem. They are also broken down to a large extent in the cooking process. Saponins are found in many foods, such as some beans. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish. The plants also contain some oxalic acid, which in large quantities can lock up some of the nutrients in the food. However, even considering this, they are very nutritious vegetables in reasonable quantities. Cooking the plant will reduce its content of oxalic acid. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition.
Dysphania ambrosioides is one of the most successful herbs colonizing both disturbed and agricultural areas in almost all continents. It is included in the Global Compendium of Weeds where it is listed as a noxious weed in the United States, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe (Randall, 2012). This species is considered invasive in a wide range of environments including areas in Australia, islands in the Pacific Ocean, Spain, Italy, Greece, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and South Africa.
Its other names
Local names
American wormseed; bluebush; Indian goosefoot; Jerusalem-tea; Mexican tea; Spanish-tea; wormseed. Spanish: apazote; aposote; biengranada; epazote; hierba hormiguera; huacatay; paico; pasote; pazote; pichan; pichen. French: ambroisie du Mexique; botrice; chenopode ambroisine; feuilles à vers; herbe à puces; herbe à vers; thé du Mexique; vermifuge. Chinese: tu jing jie. Bahamas: Jerusalem parsley. Brazil: ambrósia; ambrósia-do-México; anserina-vermífuga; ereva-mata-pulga; erva-das-lombrigas; erva-de-bicho; erva-de-Santa-Maria; erva-formigueira; mastruço; menstruço. Central America: epazote. Dominican Republic: chénopode; semen contra; semin contra. Haiti: simón contegras. Jamaica: bitter weed; hedge mustard; semicontract. Lesser Antilles: boldo; semen contra; worm bush; wormwood.