Turnera diffusa

Turnera diffusa, known as damiana, is a shrub native to southern Texas in the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. It belongs to the family Passifloraceae.

Damiana is a relatively small, woody shrub that produces small, aromatic flowers. It blossoms in early to late summer, followed by fruits that taste similar to figs. The shrub is said to have a strong spice-like odor somewhat like chamomile, due to the aromatic compounds present in the plant.

Damiana is traditionally used in Mexican liqueurs and margaritas, historically featured in 19th-century patent medicines as an alleged aphrodisiac, and today is valued in herbal teas and smoking blends for its calming and mild psychoactive effects. It contains a complex mix of phytochemicals—including flavonoids like apigenin and acacetin, terpenoids, phenolics, cyanogenic glycosides, and others. It serves as a host plant for the Mexican fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia), a butterfly.

Many plants and seeds sold as T. diffusa are actually Turnera ulmifolia (“false damiana”), a different species with different chemical properties and uses, and this misidentification mostly happens in horticultural sales, not in herbal product markets.