Clinopodium douglasii

Clinopodium douglasii
Group of plants
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Clinopodium
Species:
C. douglasii
Binomial name
Clinopodium douglasii
(Benth.) Kuntze (1891)
Synonyms[1]
  • Thymus douglasii Benth. (1831) (basionym, heterotypic)
  • Thymus chamissonis Benth. (1831) (heterotypic)
  • Micromeria douglasii Benth. (1834) (homotypic)
  • Micromeria barbata Fisch. & C.A.Mey. (1842) (heterotypic)
  • Micromeria chamissonis (Benth.) Greene (1894) (heterotypic)
  • Satureja douglasii (Benth.) Briq. (1896) (homotypic)
  • "Hesperothymus douglasii" (Benth) A. Doroszenko (1986) (nom. inval.)

Clinopodium douglasii, (synonym Micromeria douglasii),[1] yerba buena,[2] or Oregon tea[3] is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to California.[4] The plant takes the form of a sprawling, mat-forming perennial, and is especially abundant close to the coast.[5] The name "yerba buena" derives from Spanish for "good herb" and is applied to various other plants. In 2010, molecular evidence placed the species within the Clinopodium complex rather than Micromeria.[6] As of November 2024, Plants of the World Online continued to place the species in the genus Micromeria,[1] though databases such as the Jepson Herbarium eFlora,[2] iNaturalist,[7] Calflora,[8] and the USDA PLANTS Database[9] place the species in Clinopodium.

The plant has a fragrance similar to spearmint. It was used by many groups of indigenous peoples of California as a beverage and a medicine, and was similarly used by later Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers.[citation needed] The Pomo people of Potter Valley northeast California infuse its leaves (called ma ca kau') for a kind of tea beverage.[10]

  1. ^ a b c "Micromeria douglasii Benth." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  2. ^ a b Wetherwax, Margriet & Miller, John M. (2012). Clinopodium douglasii, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora. (Accessed 13 November, 2024.)
  3. ^ Oregon Flora: Clinopodium douglasii (Benth.) Kuntze
  4. ^ "PLANTS Profile for Clinopodium douglasii (yerba buena)". NRCS PLANTS database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  5. ^ Wood, Michael (2003-09-01). "Focus on Rarities, Yerba Buena Chapter, CNPS (Satureja douglasii)". CNPS Yerba Buena Chapter website. California Native Plant Society. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved 2007-12-19. Website structure requires navigation to the linked index page and then selection of the 'Yerba buena' article
  6. ^ Bräuchler, C, et al. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2010 May;55(2):501-23 Molecular phylogeny of Menthinae (Lamiaceae, Nepetoideae, Mentheae) --Taxonomy, biogeography and conflicts
  7. ^ iNaturalist: Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii)
  8. ^ Clinopodium douglasii (Benth.) Kuntze
  9. ^ United States Department of Agriculture PLANTS Database, Plant Profile: Clinopodium douglasii (Benth.) Kuntze
  10. ^ Welch, James R. (2013). Sprouting Valley: Historical Ethnobotany of the Northern Pomo from Potter Valley, California. Society of Ethnobiology. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-9887330-2-2.