Mexican Tea: A Controversial Herb with a Complex Story
If you’ve ever wandered through a neglected garden or vacant lot and caught a whiff of something pungent and gasoline-like, you might have encountered Mexican tea (Dysphania ambrosioides). This unassuming annual herb has a fascinating—and complicated—relationship with North American gardens that’s worth understanding before you decide whether to welcome it into your landscape.
What Exactly is Mexican Tea?
Mexican tea, also known simply as Mexican-Tea, is an annual forb that belongs to the same family as spinach and quinoa. Don’t let the common name fool you—this isn’t something you’d want to brew up for your morning cup! The plant gets its name from its traditional medicinal uses, though it’s quite different from the teas we’re familiar with.
This herbaceous plant lacks woody tissue and typically grows as a single-season annual, completing its entire life cycle from seed to seed in one growing year. Like many plants in the goosefoot family, it’s surprisingly adaptable and can pop up in the most unexpected places.
Where Does Mexican Tea Come From?
Here’s where things get interesting—and a bit confusing. Mexican tea has a complex native status that varies dramatically by location. It’s considered native to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while its status in the lower 48 states is undefined. However, it has established itself as a non-native species in Canada and Hawaii, where it reproduces spontaneously and persists without human intervention.
Today, you can find Mexican tea growing across an impressive range of locations, from Alabama to Alaska equivalents, spanning virtually every U.S. state and several Canadian provinces. This widespread distribution speaks to the plant’s remarkable adaptability.
What Does It Look Like?
Mexican tea isn’t going to win any beauty contests, but it has a certain rustic charm. The plant typically reaches 2-4 feet in height with serrated, lance-shaped leaves that release a distinctive, strong aroma when crushed—think of a mix between gasoline and herbs. The flowers are small, greenish, and fairly inconspicuous, arranged in dense clusters along the stems.
While it may not be the showstopper of your garden, Mexican tea can serve as an interesting textural element or background plant in informal settings.
Growing Conditions and Care
One thing you can say about Mexican tea—it’s not picky! This adaptable annual can handle a wide range of growing conditions, which explains its success across such diverse climates. Based on its wetland status across different regions, it shows remarkable flexibility:
- In most regions, it’s facultative, meaning it can thrive in both wet and dry conditions
- In some areas like Hawaii, it prefers upland (drier) conditions
- It generally performs best in full sun
- Once established, it’s quite drought tolerant
- It’s not particular about soil type
Mexican tea can theoretically grow in USDA hardiness zones 2-11 as an annual, though it may behave differently across this wide range.
Planting and Propagation
If you decide to grow Mexican tea, you’ll find it refreshingly low-maintenance. The plant readily self-sows, and you can start it easily from seed. Simply scatter seeds in spring after the last frost, barely covering them with soil. Don’t be surprised if it shows up in unexpected places the following year—this plant has a mind of its own when it comes to choosing where to grow!
The Pollinator Question
While Mexican tea does produce flowers that can attract some small insects, it’s not considered a significant pollinator plant. If you’re specifically looking to support bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, you’ll want to focus on other species for the heavy lifting.
Should You Grow Mexican Tea?
This is where things get nuanced. Mexican tea isn’t listed as invasive or noxious, so there’s no urgent ecological reason to avoid it. However, its non-native status in most areas and tendency to self-sow prolifically means you should think carefully about whether it fits your gardening goals.
Consider Mexican tea if you:
- Want a low-maintenance annual for naturalized areas
- Are interested in traditional ethnobotanical plants
- Need something tough for difficult growing conditions
- Appreciate plants with strong aromatic qualities
However, you might want to skip Mexican tea if you:
- Prefer native plants for ecological gardening
- Want showy, ornamental flowers
- Are concerned about plants that self-sow aggressively
- Prefer more predictable, controllable garden plants
Native Alternatives to Consider
If you’re drawn to Mexican tea’s hardiness and informal character but prefer native options, consider exploring native plants in the goosefoot family or other tough native annuals suited to your specific region. Your local native plant society can provide excellent recommendations for alternatives that will provide similar growing characteristics while supporting local ecosystems.
The Bottom Line
Mexican tea is one of those plants that seems to thrive on being overlooked. It’s not glamorous, it’s not particularly beautiful, but it’s remarkably successful at what it does. Whether that makes it a welcome addition to your garden depends entirely on what you’re hoping to achieve in your outdoor space. Sometimes the most interesting plants are the ones that challenge our expectations—and Mexican tea certainly does that!
