Medicinal Herbs

Billygoat Weed Extract

Ageratum conyzoides

Billygoat weed (Ageratum conyzoides) is a soft annual of the daisy family, 25-50cm tall, its stem covered in fine downy hairs. The opposite leaves, ovate to three-cornered and 2-6cm long, are hairy on both faces and paler beneath, and the small flowerheads are mauve to blue. It grows wild everywhere in Vietnam. The whole plant is cut, the roots discarded, and it is used fresh or dried. The herb is aromatic: it yields a slightly viscous essential oil, pale yellow to deep turmeric-yellow, described as pleasantly scented, though oil distilled from the flowers alone smells rank.