Boldo

Tea made from aromatic boldo leaves is Chile’s home remedy for digestion – the shrub grows only in central Chile.

Peumus boldus is an evergreen, aromatic tree or shrub of the Monimiaceae family, reaching 6–8 m. Its leathery leaves are rough with tiny warts and, when crushed, give off a strong smell reminiscent of camphor and mint. It is dioecious: small white or yellowish flowers form on separate male and female trees, and the fruits are small, edible drupes. The leaves contain the alkaloid boldine and an essential oil with ascaridole, which is harmful in large doses.

Significance in the country

In Chile, boldo leaf tea is drunk after heavy meals for the liver and digestion – boldo teabags are in every supermarket, and the dried leaves are also exported. Boldo is one of the characteristic trees of the sclerophyllous matorral of central Chile.

Where it grows

Endemic to central Chile – in sclerophyllous scrub and forest on hillsides from Coquimbo through Valparaíso, the Metropolitan Region and Maule to Biobío and Araucanía.

More: Wikipedia (en)