Aloysia polystachya - Liquorice Verbena - Plant

Description

• Verbenaceae Lamiales
• Argentina, Bolivia
• H 2.5m x W 2m
•  Z9 
• Perennial, deciduous shrub in European latitudes
• 1 plant bare root

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Details

Aloysia polystachya is a cousin of the renown Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citriodora)

It grows long arching stems that can be trellised on a support or left to run

Its elongated, fine leaves give off a most pleasant scent, soft, sweet and reminiscent of liquorice

They are traditionally dried and made into a delicious herb tea in Latin American countries

Verbena Liquorice is also a medicinal plant

Properties: Antidepressant, Antimicrobial, Antipyretic, Antispasmodic, Anxiolytic, Digestive, Diuretic, Muscle relaxant, Sedative, and Stomachic

It is a source of an essential oil rich in monoterpenes (carvacrol, carvone, eucarvone, limonene, pinene, sabinene, and thujone)

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Cultivation

Aloysia polystachya is less hardy than its cousin Lemon Verbena

Protect it from severe frosts in winter

It grows very quickly and generously in summer, when it finds heat, sun, and water

Verbena Liquorice is very easy to take care of, and will grow back each year after its winter dormancy

Rarely in catalogs and still largely unknown to the public