Genus species (Plantae): Aloysia citrodora

Aloysia citrodora, lemon verbena, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to South America. Other common names include lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 17th century and cultivated for its oil.

Description

Aloysia citriodora (Common name: Lemon verbena) is a perennial shrub or subshrub growing to 2–3 meters (7–10 ft) high. The 8-centimeter-long (3 in), glossy, pointed leaves are slightly rough to the touch and emit a strong lemon scent when bruised (hence the Latin specific epithet citrodora—lemon-scented).

Sprays of tiny purple or white flowers appear in late spring or early summer, although potted lemon verbenas may not flower. It is evergreen in tropical locations, and but is sensitive to cold, losing leaves at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F), although the wood is hardy to −10 °C (14 °F). Pruning is recommended in spring to encourage a bushy form. Due to its many culinary uses, it is widely listed and marketed as a plant for the herb garden.

Uses

Lemon verbena leaves are used to add a lemon flavor to fish and poultry dishes, vegetable marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings, Greek yogurt, and beverages. The leaves are also used in potpourri. Lemon verbena is used to make herbal teas and as a liqueur flavoring. It is used in traditional medicine in Latin American countries. The oil was historically steam-distilled from the leaves for use in the perfume industry, but it has skin-sensitising and phototoxic properties. In the European Union, verbena essential oils (Lippia citriodora Kunth.) and derivatives other than absolute are prohibited when used as a fragrance ingredient.

Chemistry

The major isolates in lemon verbena oil are citral (30–35%), nerol, and geraniol. Extracts of lemon verbena also contain verbascoside. As the plant has several phytochemicals which may act as substrates for drug-metabolizing enzymes, lemon verbena may cause herb-drug interactions. However, lemon verbena oil is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration when used as a flavoring.

Synomyms

Synonyms for lemon verbena are Verbena triphylla L'Hér., Verbena citriodora Cav., Lippia triphylla, and Lippia citriodora.

Reference: Wikipedia,gardenista.com
Photo: Plenuska,www.eplants.co.nz