Paico is an annual herb that grows to about 1 m in height. It has multi-branched, reddish stems covered with small, sharply toothed leaves. Also known as Epazote, it bears numerous small yellow flowers in clusters along its stems. Following the flowers, it produces thousands of tiny black seeds in small fruit clusters. The whole plant gives off a strong and distinctive odor.
Indigenous people in the Amazon use it to expel intestinal worms and as a mild laxative. (usually by taking one cup of a leaf decoction each morning before eating for three consecutive days). The plant decoction is also used for stomach upsets and internal hemorrhages caused by falls, to expel intestinal gas, as an insecticide, and as a natural remedy for cramps, gout, hemorrhoids, and nervous disorders. Some indigenous tribes bathe in a decoction of Paico to treat childhood trauma or to reduce fever and will also throw a couple of freshly uprooted green plants onto their fires to drive mosquitoes and flies away.

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