Yerba Buena (Micromeria chamissonis)

At a glance

Lifecycle: Perennial (hardy)
Exposure: Full sun
Frost limit: −17.8 °C

Cultivation

Prefers an open position in a well-drained soil. A prostate plant, the stems forming roots at the leaf axils wherever they come into contact with the soil. The bruised leaves release a most refreshing lemony scent resembling verbena.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Basal cuttings in early summer. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer. Division of the rooted prostrate stems in the spring.

Edible uses

The dried leaves, steeped in boiling water, make a palatable mint-flavoured tea.

Medicinal uses

The whole plant is aphrodisiac, blood purifier, mildly digestive, febrifuge, sedative and tonic. A poultice of the warm leaves have been applied to the jaw, or the plant held in the mouth, as a treatment for toothache.

Material uses

The leaves have been placed in clothing as a perfume.

Habitat

Coniferous woods.

Native range

Western N. America - southern British Columbia to southern California.

Scientific synonyms Micromeria douglasii