Friday's Herbal - Lemon Verbena

For this week's herb, I really wish that Blogger had a Scratch ~n~ Sniff app!

Common Name: Lemon Verbena
Latin: Aloysia triphylla


Ahh the lemony scent that wafts through the air when you brush up against this plant!  Lemon Verbena is native to Chile and Argentina, and is widely cultivated throughout the world.  It's a woody shrub, with 2-4 inch lanceolate leaves.   It has spikes of tiny purple flowers that appear in late summer and fall.  In warm climates this shrub can grow to 15 feet high!  In cooler climates or indoors it can grow to about 5 feet.   Lemon Verbena is quite common as a houseplant.

Medicinally, lemon verbena is used to calm upset tummies and bowels, and as a digestive aid.  It also has mild sedative effects and helps to reduce fevers.  It is not widely used in the kitchen, but does make a mild, tasty tea.  You can use the leaves fresh or dried in fish and poultry dishes, marinades, or salad dressings.  Add fresh leaves to jams, float them in iced tea or lemonade, or infuse a simple syrup to use in sherbets, candies, or cordials.

The scent of Lemon Verbena is invigorating and uplifting, so it is most commonly used to these ends.  Add the leaves to potpourris, or press them in a book to make scented bookmarks.  Place sprigs of leaves in finger bowls at your next fancy dinner party.  Float leaves in your bath to rejuvenate your senses.

Here is a way to extract the oils.  Pack a glass jar about half way with leaves, then cover the leaves with a neutral oil such as safflower or grapeseed.  Put the lid on tight and let this set for 24 hours.  Strain the oil, pressing the leaves to release the scented oil.  Add more leaves to the oil, and repeat this process several times, 6 or 7 total will do.  Finally, strain and press, then store this oil in a tightly sealed bottle.  You can add the scented oil to lotions, soaps, candles, or your bath water.  You can use this same process using vodka, and use it as a base for perfumes.  You can remove the essential oil from the vodka by placing it in the freezer.  The oil will solidify and you can remove it from the still liquid vodka.  This takes quite a few leaves to get any useful amount of oil.

Lemon Verbena grows best from nursery starts.  You can take cuttings in the summer; this does stress the mother plant, so keep it in the shade and well watered.  This herb makes a great container plant, in fact is probably best suited to containers, so you can bring it indoors in the winter.  I planted mine in the ground.  I'm going to try digging it up and potting it.  This may put it in shock, because it doesn't like its roots dug up, but I'll try and see what happens.  It likes a loamy soil; keep it moist, but not soggy, and feed with fish emulsion.  Pinch the tips to keep it bushy, and mist the leaves often to keep away mites.

After spending a summer outdoors, trim away any thin straggly branches to keep it vigorous.  It is a deciduous shrub, so don't worry if you see leaves dropping in the fall. If they start dropping at other times, it is a sign of stress, so give it extra loving care.

To harvest, you can cut the plant back halfway in midsummer and again before the first frost.  And you can harvest individual leaves or sprigs anytime as needed.  To dry the leaves, spread them in a single layer on paper, in a place with good air circulation.  Store these in an airtight container.

On that note, I am going to go make a cup of lemon balm tea for DH and myself!  It sounds like just the mid-afternoon boost I could use:)

Have a fabulous weekend!