Moujean Tea

Moujean tea (Nashia inaguensis), also called pineapple verbena, is a wonderfully fragrant plant. Not only do the flowers have an intense fragrance of jasmine, but the leaves, when crushed, have a spicy aroma of citrus, honey, and vanilla. The complexities of the aroma of the leaves, are exactly reproduced in its flavor.

The tea is delicious, and would be very popular if people were to be introduced to it. I like to make a very strong tea from it, sweeten it with honey, chill it, and use it as a mixer with rum.

The potential for this plant as a flavor and a scent is enormous, and so far, unrealized. The fragrance would be ideal for soaps, scented oils, potpourri, and candles. Any chef looking for a new flavor should consider this pretty little spice plant. It would stump the palates of the most seasoned epicurean. In an apricot glaze, it would add a delightful complexity, and its potential in desserts is limited only by the imagination.

Nashia inaguensis is native to the Bahamas. Outside of cultivation, it is not common, even in its native range. The plant is quite tolerant of many different soil conditions, but it does best in well draining soil rich in organic material. The one thing that it is not tolerant of, is drying out. Most plants will snap back after water stress, but not this plant. When these wilt, they frequently don’t come back from it after you water them. Don’t let them dry out. Trust me on this, I’ve killed a few of them in this way. They don’t like soggy roots either, so I don’t put them in trays. Its best to place them somewhere in your yard where you won’t forget to water them. They are also quite cold sensitive, but they do very well as a container plant, and in a bright South facing window, they would survive a Winter indoors without any problem.
These can get quite leggy and spindly if you leave them to their own devices, but they will fill in nicely if you prune them judiciously. An evergreen perennial, they eventually grow to become a six foot shrub. Because their leaves are tiny, they are popular as bonsai specimens.

Origin

Bahamas.

Family

Verbenaceae.

Binomial nomenclature

Nashia inaguensis.

Common names

Moujean tea, pineapple verbena.

Description

Moujean tea is a small, perennial, evergreen, shrub with long arching stems. The leaves are very small, between 1/4″-1/2″ long, glossy, have a wrinkled surface texture, are covered in tiny hairs, and release a strong aroma of citrus/honey/vanilla when crushed. The inconspicuous, white, intensely fragrant, flowers, form in clusters at the leaf nodes.

Height

6′ tall.

Temperature/Zone

zone 9b, 40°F. This plant likes warm humid conditions. They begin to suffer in the 30s. Below 280F they will die. They can be kept as a container plant and protected in lower gardening zones.

Light

Full sun to bright shade.

Water

Keep them evenly moist while they are growing. Important, Do not let this plant dry out completely, even briefly, or it will die.

Fertilizer

I use a balanced fertilizer.

Cultivation

Nashia inaguensis is very easy to grow. It prefers rich, well drained soil, but it is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions.

Pests

I have not found any pests to be a problem for this plant in Florida.