Herb
Wormseed
B tier
Wormseed is an old English name for epazote reflecting historical medicinal use against intestinal parasites—not an invitation to dose yourself from the spice rack. Culinary epazote and medicinal wormseed preparations differ in intent and concentration. In the kitchen, treat wormseed-labelled herb as epazote only if food-grade and fresh for beans. Avoid essential oil or medicinal extracts in food. The name survives in herbals more than modern recipes.
Track this ingredient
Unit
Characteristics
Preparations
Avoid Medicinal Oils in FoodCulinary Bean Only
Traits
Caution ContextCulinary if Food GradeHistoricalHistorical Medicinal NameMedicinal LegacyPungentSame SpeciesStrong
History
European herbals called the plant wormseed for vermifuge use.
Pharmacopoeias listed wormseed oil and herb.
Safer medicines reduced wormseed’s medical role; culinary use continued as epazote.
Historical name wormseed still caused label confusion for cooks.