Botanical atlas
Bushy Matgrass
Lippia alba
This plant is kept in the atlas for identification and safety, not for use. Read the safety notes below before handling it, and keep it away from children, cats, and food.
Across the herb's tropical homeland, it goes by nearly as many names as there are kitchens that grow it, juanilama in Costa Rica, salvia in parts of Mexico, erva cidreira in Brazil, each community steeping its bushy, lemon-scented leaves into a comforting after-dinner tea. Traditionally, it has been used to help settle a nervous stomach, ease the tightness of a chest cold, and quiet a restless mind before sleep. Home gardeners have long kept a bush by the kitchen door precisely because it is so ready to hand, a few leaves crushed and dropped into hot water at the first sign of a stressful evening or an achy belly. It has traveled with cooks and healers for generations, prized less for spectacle than for its steady, everyday usefulness.
Safety.
Bushy Matgrass is generally safe brewed as a traditional tea, but its essential oil is far more concentrated and shouldn't be taken internally without guidance. It may add to the effect of sedatives or sleep aids, and it's best avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding since safety data is limited.
Our sister app HerbLens identifies bushy matgrass from a photo and keeps its full botanical portrait: growing guide, harvest notes, and look-alike warnings.
View on HerbLensHerbSense shares traditional herbal knowledge for education, not diagnosis or treatment. Herbs can interact with medicines and conditions. Speak with your doctor before acting on anything here, and seek care promptly for anything severe, sudden, or worsening.