Lemon verbena

Aloysia citrodora

Verbenaceae

An Andean shrub that smells more of lemon than lemon does — a digestive and evening leaf.

Culinary shrub. Tender in frost.

Parts used: Leaf
Traditional notes: After-meal settle · Restless evening · Culinary syrup and oil
Grow · USDA 6b: Shrub, USDA 8–10; pot and overwinter north Cuttings root easily. Seed is slow. In work: May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Harvest: Leaf through the warm season. Dry fast to keep the lemon.

A terracotta pot you can bring in is kinder than a lost shrub.
Pinch tips to keep it from going all leg.
Dry in a single layer. The scent vanishes if you stew it.

Safety

Kidney disease at high extract dose (folk caution) Essential oil internally

Lore

Brought from South America to Europe in the 1700s and immediately planted where a door could bruise it. Aloysia citrodora is almost pure citral. The tea is what people mean when they say lemon but do not want lemon.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.