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Lippia abyssinica
Also called Kosseret
Koseret (Lippia abyssinica) is a shrubby herb in the verbena family, native to Ethiopia and grown across tropical Africa for its aromatic, minty leaves. It grows as a fairly hardy, drought-tolerant shrub in warm, seasonally dry conditions.
Lippia abyssinica, or koseret (Amharic: ኮሰረት, romanized: koserēt), is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It is endemic to Ethiopia but cultivated throughout tropical African countries. The specific epithet abyssinica derives from Latin and means 'of or from Ethiopia (Abyssinia)'.
The plant grows as a 3m tall shrubby herb at 1600–2000 m altitude in Ethiopia. It has hairy leaves and small flowers that are purple or pink.
Koseret, specifically the subspecies L. a. var. koseret, is dried and used as an herb in Ethiopian cuisine. The smell is camphorous and minty. Some describe its flavor as being similar to basil, but it is not closely related to that herb (they are merely in the same order, Lamiales). Koseret is closely related to the herb Mexican oregano (not to be confused with oregano), sharing the same genus Lippia. It is commonly used in making the spiced oils niter kibbeh and ye'qimem zeyet and the spice mix afrinj. Koseret along with the other herbs and spices preserve the butter and oil, preventing spoilage for up to 15 years. In these preparations koseret then flavors many common dishes, such as kitfo. In Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo it is eaten as a potherb. In west Africa, notably The Gambia, it is brewed into a tisane as a substitute for tea.
Bushy lippia · Aztec Sweet Herb · Mexican oregano · Spanish thyme · Lippia
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lippia abyssinica 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
