PlantFiles: Mexican Tea, Epazote
Dysphania ambrosioides

It was hard to grow from seed planted outside. Several came up; only one lived, but it was hardy. I dried the whole thing not knowing last year that the seeds are poisonous. Am still here, but plan to remove the seeds this year. Have purchased it dried but it was always tasteless and lacking in color. THe one plant we grew dried a pale green and had a fresher flavor. I froze it as I do most of my dried herbs. We use it for beans. Too much is over powering. We use it for flavor and to control the rootie-toot- toot bean notes.( Pouring off the bean soaking water before adding fresh water and then cooking, helps a great deal.) I add the epazote to the cooking water, about a half teaspoon per two cups of dried beans.
I was hoping someone could tell me if starting inside works better than planting the epazote where it is to grow.

This plant grows great in my area. The top foot or so becomes solid seed and dies back during the winter. This spring it grew back in weeks, along with many, MANY seedlings around it, which are doing great. Unfortunately, I will have to remove most of them to keep my garden under control.

Origins: Indigenous to Central and Southern México, but
is today a common neophyte in Europe and the US.

Spice Description: A Mexican herb that has a very
strong taste and sometimes has a gasoline or
perfumey type odor. It has been used in Mexican
cuisine for thousands of years dating back to the
Aztecs who used it for cooking as well as for
medicinal purposes.

Epazote has a distinct taste that cannot be
replaced by other herbs.

Culinary Uses: Epazote is used fresh in
soups, salads and meat dishes; it appears
in the recipe for mole verde, a Mexican
herb sauce. The most common usage is,
however, in bean dishes. The most
commonly Epazote flavored foods are
Mexican refried beans (frijoles refritos).
Refried beans can be made of any type
of small beans, with Epazote; in Southern
Mexico, however, cooks would usually
use Epazote, especially for black beans.
Yet Epazote works well with other kinds
of beans, e.g. pinto beans, which are
more popular and more easily available
in the US and elsewhere.

It is a strong flavored heb even when fresh, with dried being even more concentrated,,,so a little goes a long way.

It is best grown in the ground.

As this a tropical to sub-tropical herb,it does best in zones 8+ will survive some light freezes if it doesnt stay below freezing for more than overnight Usually will come back after it freezes.

Ot may be an acquired taste but you will like it when you get used to it.

Husband says it is also good in chilaqilees,

DEFINITELY not poisonous! Ot can also be
used to cure a human of "worms" according to old herb lore,
In my head I have stuck that is also called wormseed because of that use for it, but I will need to reseach that to be sure, If anyone else finds it or remembers it, plese post it here, Tks BB

This plant simply sprouted in an abandoned container one day. Out of curiosity I smelled the leaves and liked the smell. Got to ID it and searched for information. Tried it in my beans, and hmmmm, it was great! Now I use it every time I cook beans. My family loves it.

A bushy upright perennial to 1m, with yellow-green, elliptic, toothed leaves and amber-coloured glandular hairs. It smells strongly of turpentine and ants when crushed. It is common in table drains on disturbed roadsides around the Metropolitan area, and is also known from Albany. Native to tropical America.
(source: Plant Protect Society of WA)

Have had one plant in the ground here in Waco, Texas for two summers now. Haven't used it for cooking yet. Survives the very hot, dry Texas summer and the mild winter. No volunteers have come up so far from seed. Doesn't get afternoon shade. I like it because it's unusual.

Well, I must be a klutz because I managed to kill this plant that I bought at a plant fair last spring. I had it in a pot in a semi-sunny spot. I was told it wasn't cold hardy enough to be in the ground in my area, and I don't have a "full sun" place anywhere on my property, so perhaps it didn't get enough sun, or didn't like our months of everyday Summer rain here in Northcentral Florida, zone 8b. I hate it when I kill a plant!

This strong, musky herb is usually used in Mexican cooking to flavor beans, and is said to make them less "gassy." A little goes a long way, and if you grow one plant you will have more than you can ever possibly use. It loses its leaves at first hard frost, but the woody stems sprout again in the spring. Looks like a weed, smells like a weed, and has a weed's instinct for survival!