Damiana

BEWARE: Virtually all plants and seeds sold as "Damiana" in commerce are actually T. ulmifolia, and not T. diffusa. This misidentificat...Read Moreion is widespread, and has caused much confusion among both sellers and gardeners. A search of Google images for T. diffusa reveals the extent of the confusion, with images for both T. ulmifolia and T. diffusa being presented as the latter. Compounding the confusion is the fact that both have serrated leaves, and the inflorescence between the two species appears virtually identical at a glance. The cause for such confusion may be explained by the literature, which suggests that T. diffusa isn't normally propagated by seed.

Differentiating T. diffusa from T. ulmifolia is relatively straightforward once one has a good look at images of both.

T. ulmifolia - More herbaceous, with larger, darker, blue-green, strongly dentate leaves that taper into pointed tips, and are only weakly aromatic.

T. diffusa - Mature stems are woody, with small gray-green leaves (13-16mm long), with obtuse, rounded tips, and strongly aromatic when crushed.

T. diffusa is synonymous with the alternate term, "T. diffusa var. aphrodisiaca", or just "T. aphrodisiaca".

T. diffusa is not synonymous with T. ulmifolia with respect to essential oil composition and content.

It is a beautiful plant, grown easily from seed in zone 10b (Colima, Mexico). The foliage is dark green and deeply veined. Seems to be ...Read Morea heat lover and does not droop or wilt during the hot days. The plant has been flowering from the first of February through mid-March, has an abundance of new buds, and shows no signs of slowing down. No insect problems to date. It is said to be drought tolerant after established...but what do I know? I chronically over-water.

The only scientifically proven way of propagation is by tissue culture (Morphological comparison of damiana (Turnera diffusa, Wil...Read Moreld.) regenerated in vitro from leaves cultured in solidified medium and liquid cultures, by Lilia Alcaraz-Meléndez etc al).

Of course tissue culture is not widely available for the average gardener. It has been claimed by herbalists you can propagate by planting the seed in the spring, cuttings in the summer, or dividing in the fall.

Grows best in hot (and/or humid) climates, tolerates down to about 50F at night.

Pick leaves for tea during summer when plant blossoms. Leaves should not be boiled as it makes the tea bitter. Has been shown in a study conducted in the UK to increase sexual drive in rats and many people claim it does the same for humans. High in other nutrients as well.

I have not grown this plant. Damiana (Turnera diffusa var. aphrodisiaca) is native to Texas, Southern California, Mexico, the West Indie...Read Mores and South America.