Lippia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lippia
Lippia alba
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Verbenaceae
Genus:	Lippia L.
Type species
Lippia americana L.
Species
See text
Synonyms
Zapania Lam.

Lippia is a group of about 200 different kinds of flowering plants. They belong to the verbena family, called Verbenaceae. These plants are mostly shrubs that grow in warm, tropical parts of the world.

The name Lippia comes from Augustus Lippi. He was a French explorer and plant expert who lived from 1678 to 1705. He sadly died during his travels in a place once known as Abyssinia.

Many Lippia plants smell very nice! This is because they have special essential oils inside them. These oils can contain different chemicals like estragole, carvacrol, linalool, or limonene. Some Lippia plants, like L. graveolens, have leaves that people use for cooking. They taste a bit like oregano.

Meet the Lippia Family

There are many types of Lippia plants. Here are some of them:

• Lippia abyssinica – Also known as Koseret, found in Ethiopia.
• Lippia alba – Called Bushy lippia or white lippia. You can find it in Texas (USA), Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
• Lippia carterae – Known as Licorice verbena, it grows in Baja California, Mexico.
• Lippia durangensis
• Lippia graveolens – Often called Mexican oregano, scented lippia, or scented matgrass. It grows in the Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America.
• Lippia javanica
• Lippia kituiensis
• Lippia micromera – Known as Spanish thyme, found in Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
• Lippia multiflora
• Lippia myriocephala
• Lippia palmeri
• Lippia pretoriensis
• Lippia rehmannii
• Lippia salicifolia – Found in Ecuador.
• Lippia scaberrima
• Lippia sidoides
• Lippia substrigosa
• Lippia thymoides

See also

In Spanish: Lippia para niños