Cordia verbenacea (Erva Baleeira) potted shrub in a 9-inch pot, organic

Family:  Borage (Boraginacea)

Hardy to Zones 8 to 12

(Erva Baleeira, “Black Sage”) Perennial woody bush to small tree to 12 feet tall, native to Brazil, flowering white, aromatic, giving way to fleshy red fruits on drooping terminal racemes.  Sturdy multistemmed bushes with rough, dark-green, trichome-laden leaves.  Traditional use (S. American herbalism):  Infections, cough.  Source of antibiotic essential oils humulene and caryophyllene:  analgesic, antiinflammatory and muscle relaxant.  Plant prefers sun to part shade and moist soils.  May be grown in potted culture and kept trimmed back to size, brought indoors or into the cold greenhouse for the winter.  May also act like an herbaceous perennial and die back to the root only to resprout in spring.  Space plants 3 to 6 feet apart.

Potted shrub in a 9-inch pot,  Certified Organically Grown