Lemon Verbena
Recommendations
- Allergens Absent, except for cross-contamination. May contain traces of sesame, celery, mustard, soy.
- Origin France
- Storage / Use In a cool, dark, dry place.
The words of Mathilde Rœllinger
Our herbal infusions Songe de Nuit and O.R. both contain lemon verbena, which is excellent as a hot or cold drink all on its own.
Story
Common verbena (Verbena officinalis) is a perennial herb native to Europe that is less popular than the more fragrant, lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) with its distinctly lemony scent. Native to South America, lemon verbena is extremely common in herb gardens throughout Europe and North America today.
According to one legend, botanists Philibert Commerson and Jeanne Barret were the first to herbalize lemon verbena after they discovered it during a stopover on the South American Coast while traveling with Bougainville on his circumnavigation of the globe.
Lemon verbena is high in citral, a fragrant essential oil that gives it a distinctive lemon scent. Citral is also present in Verbena Pepper (Litsea cubeba).