#3740 - Aloysia citrodora - Lemon Verbena
An intensely fragrant shrub from the garden behind the motel - citrodora means 'lemon-scented' and it certainly was. Aloysia honors of Maria Luisa of Parma (1751–1819), wife of King Charles IV of Spain. Also known as lemon beebrush, Aloysia triphylla, Lippia citriodora, Lippia triphylla, Verbena triphylla and Zappania citrodora.
Native to South America, and first recorded by French botanist Philibert Commerson around 1767, on his circumnavigation of the world looking for new plants. By the 1790s it was already widespread in greenhouses in Britain, and highly regarded for its fragrance.
Used to flavor to fish and poultry dishes, marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings, Greek yogurt, and beverages, and in potpourri, herbal teas and liqueurs. It is used in traditional medicine in some Latin American countries, but the oil has skin-sensitising and phototoxic properties.
Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand.
