Botanical atlas

Papalo

Porophyllum ruderale

Long before it had a place in spice racks, papalo was a market-stall staple across central Mexico, where cooks tore its round, blue-green leaves straight onto tacos, tortas, and fresh salsas for a flavor somewhere between cilantro, arugula, and rue. In the high Andes, where the same plant goes by quirquiña or killi, it has traditionally been used to settle an unhappy stomach and, according to Bolivian folk wisdom, to help travelers newly arrived at altitude cope with soroche. Its pungency was never subtle, and that was the point, a single leaf could wake up a whole plate of food or, tradition says, a sluggish digestion.

Safety.

Papalo is a food herb eaten fresh across Mexico and the Andes with no known toxicity at culinary amounts, though those sensitive to ragweed or the daisy family should introduce it cautiously.