GARDEN MOSAICS

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PAPALO Science Page
DID YOU KNOW? CLASSIFYING PAPALO
In Mexico, papalo branches Papalo is a member of the Asteraceae, or Compositae, family.
are kept in water on café The composites make up the largest family of flowering plants,
tables, so diners can tear with about 20,000 species, including sunflowers and daisies.
up fresh leaves and add
them to beans or tortillas. FAMILY
GENUS
Asteraceae SPECIES
Porophyllum
(or Compositae) ruderale means
In Latin, this means
“leaves with pores.” “growing in rubble or
waste places.”
Pores are tiny
black- openings.
eyed You can see
susan the pores
on papalo
leaves
without a
sunflower microscope.
Oil comes Papalo grows well on dry
The flower head of a
out of the slopes, ravines, and
plant in this family is
pores,which roadsides. It has even
Because cooking destroys the commonly mistaken for
gives papalo been known to grow on
flavor, papalo leaves are only a single flower, but it
leaves a strong nearly bare rock.
used fresh or added to meals at really is many flowers
scent and flavor.
the last moment. grouped together.

ORIGINS THE PAPALO PLANT

The flower
Papalo is native to Mexico, Central and looks like an
South America, growing as far north unopened
as Texas. Papalo is marigold
being introduced to bloom, and
then it opens
gardeners in the into a ball that
U.S. as “a great looks like a
new herb from dandelion
flower.
Mexico.”
Papalo has In the U.S., the
egg-shaped plant grows up
leaves, which to 1 meter tall
during one
have a lovely, growing season.
In places where temperatures are always
warm, papalo grows year-round for many spicy, sharp In warmer
scent and climates, the
years. But because papalo cannot cope with plant can grow
frost, in the U.S., you may have to grow the flavor. over 2 meters
plant from seed every year. high.

GROWING AND HARVESTING PAPALO USES

Papalo is easy to grow in sunny places where Papalo leaves are used to flavor soups and
the soil is well-drained. stews, grilled meats, beans, salsa, and
salads. The leaves also are used as a
You can use papalo medicinal herb for many ailments, such as
instead of cilantro in
high blood pressure, upset stomach, and
cooking, Papalo has the
advantage that it does infections.
not go to seed in the
early summer, like
cilantro does.

Pick papalo leaves when

young for a milder
flavor. The flavor gets
stronger the older the
leaves are.
Garden Mosaics is funded by the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education program, and by
the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.
GARDEN MOSAICS
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SPOTLIGHT
CROSSWORD ON RESEARCH
Papalo chemicals may help ward off insect
Across
attacks
2. Papalo is a member of the Asteraceae
The oils secreted from glands in papalo
_____.
leaves give the plant its spicy scent. Scientists
3. The species name for papalo, ruderale,
at the University of Ottawa in Canada wanted to
means “growing in _____.”
find out if these oils play a role in defending the
5. Because cooking destroys the flavor, use
plant against insect attack. The glands that
only _____ leaves.
secrete the oils have openings, or pores, that
6. Pick papalo leaves when they are _____ for
are very large. The scientists were able to insert
a milder flavor.
a micropipette through the pores and into the
7. Papalo leaves are used to flavor _____.
glands to extract the oil. They put these oils on
Down
the larvae of European corn borers and
1. You can use papalo from cooking instead of
measured their growth rate. They discovered
this herb.
that the oils from the glands alone did not affect
2. Papalo cannot survive ______ temperatures.
growth rate of the larvae. However, when the
4. The genus name Porophyllum means “leaves
oils were combined with other compounds also
with _____.”
1. found in papalo leaves, the larvae did grow
slower. This suggests that perhaps someday
2. scientists can use the compounds in papalo to
make pesticides.
Source: Guillet, G., Bélanger, A., and Arnason, J.T. (1998). Volatile
monoterpenes in Porophyllum gracile and P. ruderale: identification,
3. localization and insecticdal synergism. Phytochemistry 49, 423-429.
Ha! Ha!
Ha!
Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha
! JOKE
4. 5.
We eat what
6. What are we can, and
you going what we
to do with can’t we can!
all that
salsa?
7.

GUACAMOLE
You can add papalo to guacamole. Serve
SALSA CRUDA (RAW SALSA) guacamole with tortilla chips and tacos, or as a
Here is a tasty salsa to serve with tacos or vegetable dip.
tortilla chips. Ingredients
Mix the following ingredients together: * 1/2 onion, finely chopped
* 6 medium-sized tomatoes, finely chopped * a handful of papalo leaves, finely chopped
* 1/2 cup (more or less to taste) finely * 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
chopped whole chilies * 1 avocado
* 1/3 cup finely chopped onions * 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* handful of papalo leaves, finely chopped Instructions
* 1 teaspoon salt 1. Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Use a
spoon to remove the pit and scoop out the
flesh of the avocado. Throw the skin away.
2. Add lemon juice, which keeps the avocado
from turning brown.
3. Mash all the ingredients together with a
fork.

Garden Mosaics is funded by the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education program, and by
the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.