Cuban Oregano Gardening


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Cuban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus) is a tender fleshy perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to South and East Africa, and grows well in sub-tropical and tropical locations. It is also known as Spanish thyme, Orégano Brujo (Puerto Rico), Indian Borage, Húng chanh (Vietnam), Mexican thyme, or Mexican mint.

Cuban oregano, 50 cm tall, has four-cornered stem, with thick and succulent, gray-green and hairy leaves. The leaves are aromatic with a strong flavor of mixed herbs. The leaves make an excellent adition to stuffings for meat and poultry. Finely chopped leaves may be used to flavor meat dishes, especially beef, lamb and game. The leaves have medicinal uses, especially for treatment of coughs, sore throat and nasal congestion, infections, rheumatism and flatulence. In Indonesia, Cuban oregano is a traditional food used in soup to stimulate lactation following childbirth.

Cuban oregano is an easily grown herb, grown well in partial shade and well-drained soil.


Cuban oregano plant
Cuban oregano plant
Author: Nguyen Thanh Quang (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0-unported)

Cuban Oregano
Cuban Oregano
Author: Phó Nháy (public domain)


Underside of a Cuban Oregano leaf
Author: Phó Nháy (public domain)








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