Turnera diffusa
Damiana
CautionOther names: Damiana
A small Mexican shrub with aromatic leaves known in folk tradition.
A low shrub with small yellow flowers and fragrant leaves; in Mexico the leaves are used in herbal infusions and traditional liqueurs.
- Family
- Passifloraceae
- Plant type
- Shrub
What the safety levels mean (expand legend)
- Generally recognised as safe. Often a common herb with reasonable harvest and use; still read the specific warnings on the card.
- Information. Primarily informational — details in the text and warnings below matter most.
- Caution. Needs extra care (dose, duration, sensitive groups, interactions).
- Risky. Significant risks — verify sources, contraindications and professional guidance.
- Not for home experimentation. Not suitable to experiment with at home without knowledge and certainty.
- High risk for internal use. Particular risk with internal use (e.g. alkaloids); avoid prolonged or irresponsible dosing.
- Not specified. Level not filled in yet — rely on individual warnings and links below.
Photograph on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Plant habit
Safety — read before use
For this herb it is important to check warnings, mix-ups and cautions. Start with the Safety section.
Quick overview
A practical summary; details are in the sections below.
- Safety grade
- Caution details
- Scientific sources on the card
- Yes — sources are listed with claims Science section
- When and what to harvest
- Leaf — June–September
- Processing methods
Herbal infusion (tea), Herbal liqueur
All methods and recipes on the card- Topics and symptoms
Burnout & mental fatigue, Mood swings, Sadness and melancholy…
Topics section, Symptoms overview
Identification and mix-ups
Densely branched evergreen subshrub to shrub in Passifloraceae reaching 1–2 m. Leaves alternate, small (mature about 13–16 mm, rarely to 25 mm), oblanceolate, with a scalloped-serrate margin and acute apex, hairy beneath, with a pair of glands at the base. Flowers solitary in the leaf axils, with five fused green sepals and five free yellow petals, subtended by three bracts; strongly aromatic when crushed.
Possible mix-ups and risks
Confused with so-called false damiana (Turnera ulmifolia), which has herbaceous (not woody) stems, larger blue-green strongly toothed leaves with a pointed apex, and is only weakly aromatic. The toxicity of this lookalike is not documented. A historical adulterant, Haplopappus discoideus (Asteraceae), has also been recorded.
Similar herbs
No related herbs are linked yet.
Topics and symptoms
More topics are in the symptoms and topics overview.
- Burnout & mental fatigueTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
- Mood swingsTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
- Sadness and melancholyTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
- Self-love and relationshipsTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
Sources
Geographic occurrence
Mexico
Occasional (garden, cultivation, or fringe of the range)
Harvest
- LeafJune–September
summer
Region: MexicoNotes: Leaves and stems during the flowering season.
Storage
- Drying(Leaf)
Dried leaves keep 12 months in a closed container.
- Light:
- Out of light.
- Moisture:
- Protect from moisture.
Processing methods on this herb card
Infusion or brief extraction in hot water; usually without long boiling.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Here, herbal tea is prepared as an infusion: pour freshly boiling water over dried herbs or a herbal blend and steep for at least 5 minutes. BfR gives this as a hygiene rule, not a medicinal dose. Follow the specific product instructions, including a longer steeping time when stated. This rule for herbal infusions is not a general preparation guide for true tea (Camellia sinensis). Temperature, steep time, and the herb-to-water ratio change both flavour and what dissolves into the liquid.
Compared with a decoction, heat exposure is shorter and gentler; tender leaves and flowers are often better as an infusion than with prolonged simmering. For each herb, always follow the plant card for suitable plant part, preparation, and safety notes — general rules never replace species-level judgement.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Sweet alcoholic macerate with herbs; sugar and ethanol drive the outcome.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
A liqueur combines herbs, spirit, and sweetener into a strongly aromatic mixture. Home batches differ from commercial products in law and in how strength is controlled.
Follow the recipe for dosing and storage; maceration time changes colour and flavour.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Traditional / spiritual use
Kept separate from science — entries are cultural or symbolic, not medical advice.
The shepherdess's herb and the wedding liqueur of Baja California
General
Traditional useEmotionsFolk useHerbal loreThe Indigenous Guaycura of Baja California drank a damiana decoction at celebrations, and 18th-century missionaries recorded it as a tonic 'for amorous vigour'; from that grew the damiana liqueur in a bottle shaped like a woman's body, served at Mexican weddings and, legend says, used in the first margarita instead of triple sec. The Spanish name hierba de la pastora, the shepherdess's herb, carries the legend of the girl who discovered it. A record of tradition, not effect.
- Form:
- wedding liqueur, herb of the Guaycura people of Baja California
- Claim strength:
- Tradition
- Source note:
- Ethnobotany of Baja California (Guaycura); 18th-century mission records; Szewczyk & Zidorn 2014 (review).
Scientific notes
Each claim lists a study type and a source (URL or DOI) where available. Dose notes from the literature are informational only.
How to read evidence strength and study type labels
Labels summarise how the catalogue entry is tagged — they are not a medical verdict on efficacy. For every row, read the summary, limitations and source link.
Evidence strength
- Evidence level not specified
- The author did not grade the record; judge from the summary, limitations and source link.
- Narrative / orientational literature
- Descriptive or expert literature without controlled group comparison — context rather than proof of effect.
- Weak evidence
- Study or conclusion with major methodological limits; treat only as a pointer for further reading.
- Preliminary findings
- First or smaller studies — interesting direction, not the final word on efficacy or safety.
- Moderate strength of evidence
- Moderate strength by study design; sample and context limits still apply.
- Stronger evidence
- Stronger design or consistency of results within the study's stated limits.
- Review article
- A review summarises multiple sources; quality depends on review method and field.
Study type
- Narrative / expert text
- Expert text or overview without a classical study design.
- In vitro study
- Cell culture or test-tube experiment — does not show an effect in the body.
- Animal study
- Animal model — transfer to humans is not automatic.
- Observational study
- Observing groups without random treatment assignment; confounding is possible.
- Clinical trial
- Human clinical trial; sample size and control group matter.
- Randomised controlled trial
- Randomised controlled trials are among the stronger designs when well conducted.
- Review study
- A review aggregates multiple papers — quality depends on selection rules.
- Systematic review
- Systematic review with explicit search and selection methodology.
- Meta-analysis
- Statistical pooling of studies; outcome depends on input data and heterogeneity.
- Regulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)
- Regulatory body summary for a herbal product — different context from a single RCT; often about products, not home tea.
- Expert monograph (herbal preparations)
- Structured literature summary for a plant or drug — quality depends on author and edition year.
The EMA HMPC monograph for damiana leaf describes traditional use for the short-term relief of mild general weakness and exhaustion; this is not treatment guidance.
Review articleRegulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)Year: 2013Preparation form in the study: infusion
Active compound / focus: damiana leaf extract
Limitations: A traditional-use framework; long-term safety data and data in pregnancy are limited.
Dose note (from literature): See the PDF for approved preparations.
The review summarises the traditional use of damiana as an aphrodisiac, tonic and remedy for anxiety, its composition (flavonoids, caffeic acid, volatile oil, arbutin) and animal and in vitro studies in which extracts affected sexual behaviour and showed anxiolytic and antioxidant effects.
Narrative / orientational literatureReview studyYear: 2014Limitations: No controlled clinical studies in humans; commercial products are often unstandardised and adulterated with other species.
Szewczyk K, Zidorn C — Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Images
The main photo is in the card header. More images will appear here when available.
Safety
What the warning types mean
The type on each warning helps group themes — it does not replace the separate severity badge.
- Internal use
- Risks from swallowing, extracts, duration of use or concentration for internal use.
- Interactions / medicines
- Possible effect on medicines or concurrent treatment — check sources and a professional.
- Raw plant parts
- Raw, unripe or poorly prepared plant parts can be dangerous.
- Toxins and regulation
- Toxic constituents or regulated compounds (e.g. in distillates).
- Contact with the plant
- Skin or mucosa irritation from contact with fresh plant or sap.
- Allergy
- Allergic reactions, often linked to family sensitisation.
- Harvesting and contamination
- Contamination, species mix-ups or harvesting from unsuitable places.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingLow severitypregnancy
Avoided in pregnancy by tradition; data on the safety of higher doses and during lactation are limited.