Greens goddess.(Connoisseur's Corner)(Root beer plant)

LILY BALTAZAR'S HERB FARM IS EASY TO MISS IF YOU'RE DRIVING IN THE FAST-MOVING traffic along Garfield Avenue. Her seven-acre plot beneath the Edison power lines in Bell Gardens is masked by a vine-covered fence. Here and in two other locations, Baltazar's company, Herbs International, grows herbs used in traditional Mexican cooking: rue, Joseph's coat, verdolaga, epazote, and hoja santa (sacred leaf), a plant that chef and author Rick Bayless, an expert in Mexican cuisine, describes as "thrillingly aromatic."

The Aztecs must have agreed. Hoja santa--a member of the black pepper family that is also called "root beer plant" because of its similarity to sarsaparilla--was mixed into chocolate drinks reserved for the nobility. The herb is as revered in southern Mexican kitchens as thyme and basil are in those of Europe, and its popularity with influential chefs is making it better known north of the border.

Cooks use the broad, velvety, heart-shaped leaves to make the Veracruz specialty pescado en hoja, grilled or steamed fish wrapped in leaves. Hoja santa is also the backbone of southern Mexican green moles, which rely primarily on fresh herbs and tomatillos or green tomatoes.

Chef de cuisine Juan-Carlos Leon of Senor Fred in Sherman Oaks tucks an hoja (pronounced o-ha) santa liner under the corn-husk wrappers of certain tamales to give them an elusive aroma. He may also toss the herb into chicken stock. But his lamb birria, in which a whole shank is enveloped in leaves before it's oven braised in foil, is his most dramatic use of hoja santa. "It adds a subtle perfume and seals in the meat juices," says Senor Fred owner and executive chef Andre Guerrero.

The fresh herb wasn't readily available in Los Angeles until the most recent acceleration of southern Mexican and Central American immigration. "Now there's a growing market for it," says Baltazar, whose father, Martin Baltazar, is the owner of ABC Rhubarb Farms Inc., which pioneered sales of herbs like cilantro before they became supermarket staples. She sells her crop locally at the Pasadena Farmers Market on Saturday, as well as to chefs and grocers. On Baltazar's Internet site, hoja santa is the most requested item. Senor Fred, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, 818-789-3200 or www.senorfredcom. Lily Baltazar Herbs International, 562-862.2555 or www.herbchef.com.