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Peumus boldus
Boldo is an evergreen aromatic tree from central Chile whose leaves are used as a culinary herb and tea. It is grown mainly for its strongly flavored leaves and small edible fruits.
Peumus boldus, commonly known as boldo (from the Mapuche name foḻo), is a species of tree in the family Monimiaceae and the only species in the genus Peumus. It is endemic to the central region of Chile, between 33° and 40° southern latitude. Boldo has also been introduced to Europe and North Africa, though it is not often seen outside botanical gardens.
Due to its common name, it is often confused with the species Plectranthus ornatus, known as falso boldo ("false boldo"), boldo paraguayo or boldo rastrero, which has led to confusion about the uses, properties and toxicity of both species.
In 2009, the European Medicines Agency assessed boldo as follows:
Boldo leaf contains the alkaloid boldine. Boldo leaf also contains 2–4% of volatile oil. Major constituents reported as: ascaridole (16–38%), 1,8-cineole (11–39%) and p-Cymene (9–29%). Ascaridole is highly toxic, and this raises concerns about the suitability of boldo leaf in traditional herbal medicinal products.
In Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay, boldo is mixed with yerba mate or other teas to moderate its flavor. Some families keep a boldo plant at home for this purpose, although boldo teabags are readily available in nearly all supermarkets.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Boldo 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.
