Halamang Gamot Directory
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Yerba buena

Mentha × villosa · Mint

Yerba buena, Mentha × villosa
Photo: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possession, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Names in the book
English: Marsh mint, Pepper mint; Tagalog: Yerba buena, Herba buena, Mentha, Malipukon
Used for
Mouth, teeth and throatStomach and digestionJoint pain, sprains and swelling
Colours
flowerlilac
Native range
A garden hybrid that arose in Europe
Family
Lamiaceae
Printed as
Mentha cordifolia Opiz
Sources
Healing Wonders of Herbs (1985), page 85 · Wikipedia

The plant today

Mentha × villosa (syn: Mentha alopecuroides, Mentha nemorosa, Mentha villosa var. alopecuroides) also known as hairy mint or mojito mint is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between Mentha spicata and Mentha suaveolens. This species is native to temperate and warm temperate regions of Europe and occurs in meadows, pastures, and ruderal locations. However, it is cultivated in many other countries throughout the world. In Cuba and the Philippines, this species is known as yerba buena or hierbabuena. In Cuba, it is a core ingredient in the mojito cocktail, though other mints such as spearmint are used where mojito mint is not available.

Excerpt from “Mentha × villosa” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recorded in the Philippines

GBIF holds 32 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 3 provinces: Zamboanga del Norte (28), Agusan del Sur (3), Isabela (1).

Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.

What the 1985 book uses it for

A record of home remedies from 1985, with the book's amounts and doses reworded. It is not medical advice.

  • Flatulence or gas painLeaf decoction, drunk.Boil 1 tablespoon of dried leaves, or 5 chopped fresh leaves, in 1 glass of water for 5 minutes. Adults take 1 glass every 4 hours. Children every 4 hours: babies 1 tablespoon, ages 2 to 6 half a cup, ages 7 to 12 one cup.Page 26
  • Rheumatism or rheumatic joint painDecoction of dried leaves, drunk.Boil 4 tablespoons of dried leaves in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Adults take half a glass every 4 hours.Page 35
  • ToothacheCotton wet with leaf juice, placed in the cavity.Pound fresh leaves for the juice. Temporary relief until a dentist is seen.Page 43

The book prints Mentha cordifolia, the name Philippine herbals use for yerba buena. Botanists now treat it as a form of the hybrid mint Mentha × villosa.

Summarised from Herminia de Guzman-Ladion, Healing Wonders of Herbs (Manila: Philippine Publishing House, 1985), where this plant is shown as “Herba buena” on page 85. The book is in copyright, so its wording and photographs are not reproduced. Amounts are the book's, restated.

Recent research

The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.

  1. In Vitro Antiviral Activity of Mentha cordifolia Plant Extract in HIV-1 Latently Infected Cells Using an Established Human Cell Linede Paz-Silava SLM and others, AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses, 2022
All 1 results on Europe PMC