An small shrub that frecuently grows in gardens, ravines and backyards in Guatemala City.

The best option is to grow the plant, which turns out rather decorative and surprisingly robust.

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum in one of the small gardens in FLAAR office. Photo by Nicholas Hellmuth.

The young leaf is cooked to be eaten in soups and stews, used as a condiment or flavoring for meats. Also eaten fried and seasoned to accompany other foods. Another way is by wrapping the meat consumption of chicken seasoned then tied with a piece of steaming banana what is called a chicken rut.

The tender stems are used in vegetable salads. The stems can also be consumed roasted in the embers. Also prepare chopped for soup.

The leaves are also used to treat snakebites, headaches and colds and infusion of hypertension.

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum leaves, the edible part that gives flavor to a lot of tradicional foods in Central America.

When crushed the leaves and stems smell strongly of sarsaparilla (root beer), and the leaves are used to flavor foods, especially meat dishes and the common local snails (jutes) found in small streams. (Parker, 2008)

The crushed roots have an anesthetic effect and are used to relieve insect bites and headaches and swollen wounds pulverized seeds with ginger is used to scurvy and sluggish digestive and fried almond leaves to cure colic the liver.
The origin is from Tropic Mesoamerica (Southern México, Guatemala, Panamá, Northern Colombia).

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum broadleaf used as flavoring or when crushed as root beer. Photo by Nicholas Hellmuth.

Hierba santa maria, Piper auritum broadleaf that when crushed it can be used to treat snakebites. Photo by Juan Luis Sacayón, August 2011, Guatemala City

Last update March 11, 2013, First posted september 23, 2011.