Phyla dulcis

Taxobox
name = "Phyla dulcis"

---

image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Lamiales
familia = Verbenaceae
genus = "Phyla"
species = "P. dulcis"
binomial = "Phyla dulcis"
binomial_authority = (Trevir.) Moldenke

Phyla dulcis (syn. "Lippia dulcis", "Phyla scaberrima") is a species of perennial herb known by several common names, including Aztec sweet herb, bushy lippia, honeyherb, hierba dulce, and in Nahuatl "tzopelic-xihuitl". This plant has historically been used as a natural sweetener and medicinal herb in its native Mexico and parts of Central America. It was used by the Aztecs and introduced to the Spanish when they arrived.

The sweet taste is caused by a sesquiterpene compound called hernandulcin, which was discovered in 1985 and named for Francisco Hernández, the Spanish physician who first described the plant in the sixteenth century. [Vandaveer, C. [http://www.killerplants.com/weird-plants/20031204.asp What is the Aztec sweet herb?] killerplants.com]

References

External links

* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?429352 GRIN Species Profile]