First of all, the plant known as “Mexican oregano” is a different species in different parts of Mexico. In each case, local people just shrug and call it orégano, because it’s what they know and use. There is not one single Mexican oregano.

These different plant species all give a slightly different flavor to the food they are used in. Oregano flavor yes, but with citrus notes, or dusky notes, or with pungent notes. Does it matter? To some yes.

Mama’s Pozole

Several years ago, at a little Mexican restaurant in Vermont, I got to discussing the food with the waiter. He was the grown son of the cook and he was lamenting the fact that his mother’s pozole was just not the same as he grew up eating back in Mexico. I told him that I found it quite excellent. Yes, it was still good he agreed, but it wasn’t the same. (No la mizmo!)

We ended up with me in the kitchen, surrounded by delightful scents and talking to a 4’8” cook and her 6’1” son about herbs and spices. They were originally from Coahuila, Mexico, from near a tiny town that no one ever heard of (and quite frankly I forgot the name of). They left Mexico and came to America legally after a “big hurricane” destroyed their farm. So much water, the farm was washed down the hillside.  But the father and elder brothers knew cows and they ended up in Vermont with the dad working on a Vermont dairy farm.

Where in Mexico

Knowing that they were from Coahuila, I was able to pull up a picture of the orégano (that would make his mother’s pozole taste the same again. We wrote down the scientific name so the local nursery could order them some. When I warned that it was a tropical plant and not tolerant of Vermont winters, the feisty lady assured me that it would live in her care. He son was nodding vehemently in the background.

This all happened several years ago, and this past summer I got hungry for real Mexican food that was not my own cooking, so I went back. Alas, the restaurant was closed. The business across the street explained to me that the Vermont flood of 2023 had inundated their restaurant, despite it being over 15 feet above the current creek level. The muddy water destroyed the electrical system, and water caused the sheetrock to get moldy. It was now an un-salvageable and condemned building.  I find it quite sad that this family had been ruined twice now by fierce weather events. I do hope they land on their feet once more.

Oregano in General

In general, most of the plants called “oregano” are either in the mint or the verbena family. These are closely related families and have many of the same genes to produce the same defensive compounds to keep the deer and bunnies at bay. Meanwhile we humans like the flavor of these defensive compounds and care tenderly for the plants so that we can eat them. Life is funny like that.

Oregano flavors are generally attributed to the chemical compounds thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, carvacrol, and caryophyllene. The names of these compounds will tell you what plant they were first discovered in – some over 300 years ago.  For example, thymol was first found in thyme in 1719 by the German chemist Caspar Neumann.

Since all these oregano plants are different species, they have differing amounts of these six chemical compounds, not to mention some extra compounds unique to each different species. Thus each oregano will taste different. To top it off, factors such as climate, season, and soil composition may affect the aromatic oils present, and thus plant in the same species grown in different areas or in different years will also taste different. (Taste differently? And me the writer.)

Mexican Oregano

Since these are all called “Mexican oregano” I am going to have to use the scientific names of the plants to tell them apart for you. You can safely use any of these species in your cooking, either fresh and dried. Standard warnings. Limit excessive use, tell your physician, this is for entertainment purposes only, et cetera. Since we should also limit excessive consumption of drinking water, please take this with a grain of salt. Know that I say this to appease the US Health Department rules about talking about herbs.

Mexican Oregano Across Mexico

The Sonoran and Sinaloan versions of Mexican oregano are often Aloysia grantissima and Aloysia wrightii. I grow, use, and post about both.  A. grantissima prefers sandy bottom lands, while A. wrightii is found on the rocky slopes, and in generally sunnier locations. I find that A. grantissima has a bit more of a lemony note to it. A wrightii can be more sharply or strongly flavored.

Along the waterways of Sonora and Sinaloa, the oregano is often Lippia origanoides. Also called Sonoran oregano.

Central Mexico (Mexico, Puebla, Aguascalientes) usually uses Lippia graveolens for oregano. One common name in English is frogbit. This tells you it grows where there are frogs, in other words, along watercourses. This is the one you might find sold in US stores as “Mexican oregano.”

Over in the Sierra Madre Oriental (Eastern Sierra Madre mountains) of Mexico, their Mexican oregano is two different plants. Hedeoma patens grows in Durango, Chihuahua, and Coahuila, generally up in the pines.

Poliomintha longiflora is used as orégano in Chihuahua and into Tamaulipas. It’s a lovely plant and can stand some Southwest weather, but needs shade to grow well in our area.

In the lowlands of Veracruz and Yucatan cooking, they use Coleus amboinicus (formerly Plectranthus amboinicus) as oregano. Here we call it Cuban oregano, but it comes from Africa.  Let me tell you, fresh caught fish, rubbed with leaves of this oregano and fried on a searing hot sheet of metal over a charcoal fire were absolutely delightful. The beach and the cerveza after a long hot day of collecting plants and amassing scientific data no doubt helped the flavor.

But Wait, There’s More

One more orégano. When I was in a tiny mountain village in Michoacan, I happened to stop in the mercado on market day. On the outer fringes, I came across a lady sitting on the dirt, a threadbare scarf in front of her with small bundles of greens. She was obviously hoping for a few pesos to buy necessities. Her feet were bare and gnarled, her dress a patchwork of patches. She was selling small bundles of fresh “orégano.” She wanted just a few centavos for a bundle, and I could see the townsfolk trying to not crane their necks to stare at what the gringa was doing.

I bought two bundles and gave the nearly toothless woman twice what she was asking, pretending I had no change. I told her she should just keep the extra. She blessed me and crossed herself. As I walked away with my purchase, other shoppers went to get some of this herb that the gringa valued so highly. This was in 1988 folks. That world is gone now.

To finish the tale, I got back to the truck and pulled out a hand lens. The plant in question was Greek oregano. Origanum vulgare variety hirtum. So yes, they grow European oregano in parts of Mexico. (And yes, I mention this in the book on Father Kino’s herbs.)

How to use Mexican oregano.

We would love to hear if you use oregano – and how.  There is space down below – which is way way down below if you read this on a phone.

Oregano is one of the “Father Kino’s Herbs”

The last few copies of this out-of-print award winning Southwestern book are now for sale. Father Kino’s Herbs: Growing and Using Them Today   The review says:

“Award-winning garden writer Dr. Jacqueline A. Soule has pulled together a fascinating book on the life of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and some of the plants that he brought to Southern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, and area called the Pimeria Alta.”

This link is to our book sales site. The profits from the sale go to the local Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute.  We hope you will help support this great Southwest non-profit!

You can learn more at the Kino Heritage Society. (.org)

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Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.