Yerba Buena
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses of the term Yerba Buena see Yerba Buena (disambiguation).
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Yerba buena
| regnum = Plantae
| divisio = Magnoliophyta
| classis = Magnoliopsida
| ordo = Lamiales
| familia = Lamiaceae
| genus = Clinopodium
| species = C. douglasii
| binomial = Clinopodium douglasii
| binomial_authority = (Benth.) Kuntze
| synonyms = Satureja douglasii
Micromeria douglasii
}}
Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii) is a sprawling aromatic herb of the western and northwestern United States, western Canada and Alaska. Another local name for this plant is Oregon tea, referring to its use as both a medicinal and refreshing tea. Its name, an alternate form of hierba buena, which means "good herb" was given it by the Spanish priests of California.
What is now San Francisco, California was originally named Yerba Buena by its Spanish settlers in the 18th century because of the abundance of the herb in the area. When the town was captured by the Americans in 1846 during the Mexican-American war, it was re-named San Francisco.
The name remains for an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay that is connected to Treasure Island and serves as an anchor for the Bay Bridge.
Other herbs called Yerba Buena
The term, "Yerba Buena", has been (and is currently) used by the Mexican culture (in Southern territories) to define an herb used for medicinal purposes, usually Mentha spicata or Mentha viridis, otherwise known as Spearmint, rather than Clinopodium. This is another reason why it so important to know your latin names when referencing herbs of any kind.