Botanical atlas
Carqueja
Baccharis articulata
Carqueja has long been steeped as a bitter after-dinner tea across the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay, where rural households turned to it to settle a heavy stomach. Traditional healers in the region regarded it as a tonic for the liver and gallbladder, often blending it with other bitter herbs in digestive preparations. Its odd, jointed, wing-edged stems made it easy to recognize and gather from the wild, and it became a fixture of South American folk pharmacies long before its compounds were ever studied in a laboratory. It remains one of the most commonly sold bitter herbs in markets throughout the Río de la Plata region, still brewed the same simple way as it was generations ago.
In tradition.
Carqueja has long been steeped as a bitter after-dinner tea across the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay, where rural households turned to it to settle a heavy stomach. Traditional healers in the region regarded it as a tonic for the liver and gallbladder, often blending it with other bitter herbs in digestive preparations. Its odd, jointed, wing-edged stems made it easy to recognize and gather from the wild, and it became a fixture of South American folk pharmacies long before its compounds were ever studied in a laboratory. It remains one of the most commonly sold bitter herbs in markets throughout the Río de la Plata region, still brewed the same simple way as it was generations ago.
Traditional preparations.
A traditional after-meal infusion used throughout the Río de la Plata region to ease heaviness and support digestion.
Traditionally, a tea is made by steeping 1 teaspoon of the dried, cut stems in 250 ml of just-boiled water for 10 minutes, then strained and sipped slowly after meals.
A small pinch of carqueja is traditionally added to yerba mate as a bitter digestive companion, sipped the way mate itself is shared throughout the day.
Add a small pinch of dried carqueja to a standard serving of yerba mate before pouring hot water over it, traditionally used no more than a few times a week.
Safety.
Traditionally taken in small amounts as a bitter tea; avoid if you have gallstones or a blocked bile duct, and avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It may strengthen the effect of blood sugar or blood pressure medications.
Our sister app HerbLens identifies carqueja from a photo and keeps its full botanical portrait: growing guide, harvest notes, and look-alike warnings.
View on HerbLensAsk HerbSense how carqueja is traditionally used and what to know before trying anything at home.
Ask about CarquejaHerbSense 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.