Damiana Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Damiana (Turnera diffusa) is a small aromatic shrub of the passionflower family, Passifloraceae, formerly placed in its own family Turneraceae, native to dry, rocky hillsides of Mexico, Baja California, southern Texas, Central America, and the Caribbean. It grows 1 to 2 meters with slender branches and small, narrow, toothed, pale green leaves 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, slightly hairy beneath, that smell of chamomile and fig when crushed. Solitary, bright yellow, five-petaled flowers open in the leaf axils through summer, followed by tiny capsules of sweet-smelling seeds. In Mexico the leaves flavor a golden liqueur sold in a bottle shaped like a woman. We extract the dried leaf.