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Carphephorus odoratissimus
Vanillaleaf is a native North American perennial herb in the daisy family, grown mainly for its vanilla-scented foliage. It needs well-drained soil and a sunny to lightly shaded spot in the warm southeastern climate it comes from.
Carphephorus odoratissimus (syn. Trilisa odoratissima), common name vanillaleaf, is a species of North American plants in the family Asteraceae. This species is native to the southeastern United States, including the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida.
Carphephorus odoratissimus is a herbaceous perennial up to 180 cm (6 feet) in height, and is largely glabrous. It produces a flat-topped inflorescence with many small purplish flower heads containing disc florets but no ray florets.
Carphephorus odoratissimus var. odoratissimus was given the common name vanillaleaf in reference to the vanilla-like odor that emanates from its foliage, which is due to the high (1.6%) content of coumarin as its major aromatic constituent. As a result, this variety has a history of use in cosmetics, herbal medicine, and as an additive to smoking tobacco. The leaves can be used to make a tonic for treating malaria.
Sandywoods chaffhead · Coastal plain chaffhead · Hairy chaffhead · Bristleleaf chaffhead · Woolly chaffhead · Chaffhead · Pineland Chaffhead · Chaffhead
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carphephorus odoratissimus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
