Damiana Herb

Weight: 50 g - Price: 7.90€

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Turnera diffusa (50g) – Super Fine Quality

A highly branched little shrub with yellow flowers, Damiana is widespread from southern California all the way to Argentina. The plant, which also goes by the synonymous names Ajkits, Damiana amarilla, Garanona, Hierba de la mora, Itamo real and Shepherd's herb, can also be found in northern Mexico.

With a growth height of up to two metres, this member of the Turneraceae family is a modest-sized plant — yet its reputation as a natural aphrodisiac has made it world-famous. It is well worth taking a closer look.

Long before the Western world took notice, the Maya and Aztecs were aware of the stimulating properties of this shrub and prepared love potions from it. The essential oils it contains — such as cineole and thymol — led users to discover that the plant could rekindle inner fire during colds and act as a tonic during states of fatigue. The love herb takes its name from Saint Damian, the patron saint of pharmacists. Its first botanical description, however, came in 1820 from the Austrian botanist Josef August Schultes, a natural scientist and travel writer with a passion for exotic plants. In the southern United States, the shrub is said to be consecrated to the love goddess Erzulie — a Haitian spirit being — in certain Voodoo traditions. The mystically charged plant is also a component of Pan and Venus incense blends.

After the herb was included in the United States Pharmacopeia in 1874 and increasingly used as a marijuana substitute (legal high) during the 1960s, it is today primarily the libido- and potency-enhancing effects that attract interest. The terpenes contained in the leaves — among them cineole (also found in eucalyptus and sage), arbutin, cadinene, damianin, p-cymene, pinene and thymol, as well as tannin and caffeine — exert a driving effect on the libido. Resins, along with the bitter compounds damianin and albuminoid, make up further constituents. According to anecdotal reports, Damiana is said to have an antispasmodic effect on menstrual discomfort and muscle tension, and to be helpful with inflammatory complaints of the reproductive organs.

Between July and September, when the shrubs display their radiant blooms, the herb is harvested and dried. Consumers most commonly use it in smoked form or as a tea, prepared by pouring hot water over a tablespoon of the herb and leaving it to steep for ten to fifteen minutes. Regular use is said to enhance the desired effects. Vaporiser enthusiasts can enjoy the herb at temperatures between 125 and 175 degrees Celsius. Above 190 degrees, all key active compounds are lost — making alcoholic extracts a worthwhile alternative that can also increase potency.

A Mexican recipe for a Damiana liqueur is as follows:

One bottle of white rum or tequila, 10–20g Damiana, 20–25g saw palmetto berries, 2 vanilla pods, 3 cinnamon sticks, 2g mace flowers, 0.5g galangal root. This preparation is left in a warm place for two weeks, then either strained or bottled together with the ingredients. Insiders swear by taking the liqueur approximately one hour before lovemaking.

A simpler method is a vodka-Damiana infusion:
Mix 60 grams of the dried herb with one litre of vodka and leave to infuse for one week. After filtering, leave the soaked Damiana to steep in half a litre of water for around ten hours. Filter again, add one to two cups of honey and warm gently. The honey water is then combined with the Damiana vodka and left to rest for three months.

Traditional use: tea (1–2 tsp) / vaporising (125–175°C)