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Root Beer Plant
Let us explain. This is not the source for a rootbeer float but the fragrance is similar. The 8-inch heart shaped leaves are used to wrap fish or pork in Mexican and Indian cooking. A customer of ours from Central America (see our Culantro entry) told us she uses it like tamales. So, I steamed a corn bread/ stuffing-for-peppers blend, wrapped with root beer leaves. We ate the sweet leaves and all! Imagine Mark coming into our kitchen at the end of a long day and smelling that! Remember to find a moist large spot for this novelty herb and it will grow up to 4-5 feet, in the first growing season.