This Post is purely for informational purposes only. I have no personal experience using this herb either culinarily or medicinally and as much of the information on this species can be contradictory I recommend caution be demonstrated. A caution like this also demonstrates somewhat the loss of knowledge with regards to plants of this nature. The wild, weedy plants are often overlooked and replaced with … Continue reading Quelite : Metezurras
Nurite According to Martinez-Gordillo et al. (2013), Mexico has 14 species of Clinopodium, of which 10 species are endemic: This Post looks at a specific variety, Nurite – Clinopodium macrostemum, and the (very) closely related C.mexicanum Clinopodium macrostemum Syn : Clinopodium laevigatum; Satureja macrostema; Calamintha macrostema; Satureja laevigata; Melissa macrostema ; Calamintha fuchsiifolia; Satureja macrostema var. laegivata; Clinopodium macrostemum var. laevigatum Nurhitini te, nurhitini, nurhiten, … Continue reading Quelite : Nurite
Quelite : Porophyllum scoparium delves into this herb from a Mexican point of view (1). Here we look at it from the other side of the Rio Bravo (the Rio Grande if you’re standing on its northern banks). Also called : West Texas poreleaf, The plant of the week is Trans-Pecos Poreleaf (Porophyllum scoparium), one of the many members of Asteraceae. It grows in sandy … Continue reading Trans-Pecos Poreleaf
Bajacalia Bajacalia is a genus of three species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae (1), native primarily to the Baja California peninsula in northwestern Mexico. The genus name derives from “Baja California,” reflecting the restricted range of its species in that region.(Loockerman et al 2003) Geographic distribution of Bajacalia : Gulf coast of Baja California Sur, Isla Ángel de la Guarda, and three … Continue reading Papalo Adjacent. The Bajacalias.
Porophyllum maritimum. Heterotypic Synonyms (1) : Porophyllum porfyreum (Rose & Standl 1916) Porophyllum porfyreum Not a great specimen to be honest. (well it was collected in 1911) Also called : Odoro (1), Hierba del venado, Seaside purslane Also known as the Seaside Poreleaf (1), it belongs to the poreleaf genus, which includes, among others, the aromatic, culinary, and medicinal P. ruderale. Porophyllum linifolim Porophyllum maritimum … Continue reading Porophyllum maritimum
Even though I consider Papalo (1) to be a quintessentially Mexican herb I feel I must note that the Mother of this Family (2) originates from lands further south than the Basin of Mexico and is even commonly known as “Bolivian coriander”. I have briefly written on Papalo in Peru, a land sharing a border with Bolivia, (3) which I would like to expand upon … Continue reading Papalo and its Southern Cousins
After the Porophyllum species my next favourite group of wild herbs is the Tagetes family. My favourite child would be Pericón (Tagetes lucida which is a very Mexican herb (1) but snapping close on its heels would be its southern, more Bolivian primo Huacatay (Tagetes minuta) (2). For more information on some of the perhaps more obscure members of the family also read…. Quelite : … Continue reading Chincho. A Peruvian Quelite
This quelite (1), Xilimago (2) is the perfect example of a wildcrafted/foraged ingredient that’s difficult to find in the mercados and is a perfect exemplification of this Mexican category of edible plants (1). Native to Europe, the Azores, the Madeira Islands, the Canary Islands, northern Africa (i.e. Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia) and western Asia. Rabanillo is a rapidly spreading, invasive, frost hardy plant. … Continue reading Quelite : Xilimago (Rabanillo/Jaramao)
In November of 2025 I visited Mexico and spent some time at a friends childhood home in Tetipac in the mountains of Guerrero between Ixtapan de la Sal and Taxco. His family has a long history in this area and his father, a very knowledgeable man, introduced me to a quelite known as chichihuachi. He described it as a “kind of papalo” whose flavour was … Continue reading Quelite : Chichihuachi. Papalo Adjacent
We add another one to the list : A Note on Deer Weed : The Danger of Common Names Scientific name: Peperomia lenticularis A plant with smooth, slightly heart-shaped green leaves. Common names : Sopa-causasa, cumazani, Tequelite chiquito (1) Known in other languages as: cuc’sazan also Laktsu kuksasan (Totonac, northern mountains of Puebla) tancharapo (Nahuatl, northern mountain range of Puebla) Below are some descriptions of … Continue reading Quelite de Venado : Another Deer Weed
Masa Americana 