Lippia dulcis

Native from Mexico to Venezuela and the Caribbean, this low-growing perennial has a creeping or mat-forming habit. Its tiny white flowers form a ring around the top of rounded to oblong flower heads. The plant contains hernandulcin, an intensely sweet compound. In a taste-panel study, the isolated compound was judged more than a thousand times sweeter than table sugar. The composition of its aromatic oils varies among populations. Photographed in the department of Quindio, Colombia.