{ "id": "eprq8tzc9w", "slug": "turnera-diffusa", "title": "Turnera diffusa", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "life", "label": "Life and health", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life" }, { "id": "life.plants", "label": "Plants and algae", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life.plants" }, { "id": "life.plants.seed", "label": "Seed plants", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life.plants.seed" }, { "id": "life.plants.seed.other", "label": "Other flowering plants", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life.plants.seed.other" }, { "id": "life.plants.seed.other.rosids", "label": "Rosids", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life.plants.seed.other.rosids" }, { "id": "life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales", "label": "Malpighiales, Myrtales, and Brassicales", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales" }, { "id": "life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales.malpighiales", "label": "Malpighiales", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales.malpighiales" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales", "label": "Latin America and the Caribbean · Not dated: Malpighiales, Myrtales, and Brassicales", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales", "path": [ { "id": "geo.latam", "label": "Latin America and the Caribbean", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate", "label": "Latin America and the Caribbean · Not dated", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life", "label": "Life and health", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life.plants", "label": "Plants and algae", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life.plants" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed", "label": "Seed plants", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other", "label": "Other flowering plants", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other.rosids", "label": "Rosids", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other.rosids" }, { "id": "geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales", "label": "Malpighiales, Myrtales, and Brassicales", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.nodate.life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Turnera diffusa (damiana), a Passifloraceae shrub native from southern Texas to Brazil, is a traditional herbal tea plant reputed as an aphrodisiac, with flavonoid-rich leaves, licensed Canadian products, and German FSIAD therapy use.", "snippet": "Turnera diffusa (damiana), a Passifloraceae shrub native from southern Texas to Brazil, is a traditional herbal tea plant reputed as an aphrodisiac, with flavonoid-rich leaves, licensed Canadian products, and German FSIAD therapy use.", "node": "life.plants.seed.other.rosids.malpighiales-myrtales-and-brassicales.malpighiales", "markdown": "# Turnera diffusa\n\n**Turnera diffusa** Willd. ex Schult., commonly known as **damiana**, is a small aromatic flowering shrub of the passionflower family (Passifloraceae) native from southern Texas through [Central America](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-america) and the Caribbean to eastern Brazil, whose leaves are used in traditional medicine and as an herbal tea reputed to be an aphrodisiac.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) • [2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114000658) The species was first published in 1820 in volume 6 of Roemer and Schultes's *Systema vegetabilium* (page 679), with Schultes, the publishing author, ascribing the name and description to Willdenow.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) • [3](https://www.ipni.org/n/836578-1)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Accepted name | *Turnera diffusa* Willd. ex Schult., 1820, family Passifloraceae (formerly treated as Turneraceae)[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) • [2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114000658) |\n| Native range | Southern Texas to Central America, the Caribbean, and eastern Brazil; grows in the seasonally dry tropical biome[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) |\n| Habit and size | Low, densely branched shrub, less than 1 m tall; leaves 6–15 mm long; bright yellow petals up to 8 mm[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) |\n| Common names | Damiana, Yerba damiana, Pastorcita, Herb de la pastora, Herb del venado, Rompe camisa macho[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) |\n| Traditional use | Leaves made into an aromatic tea reputed to be an aphrodisiac; also used as a diuretic, laxative, stimulant, and for diabetes and venereal diseases[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) • [4](https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/damiana) |\n| Conservation status | Predicted extinction risk: not threatened (2024 angiosperm risk predictions, confidence: confident)[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) |\n| Regulatory presence | 272 licensed natural health products in Canada name *Turnera diffusa* as a medicinal ingredient[5](https://metatronhealth.org/substances/turnera-diffusa/) |\n\n## Taxonomy and naming\n\nThe genus *Turnera* encompasses about 135 species from the warm and tropical parts of the Americas and two from Africa. The genus was variously assigned to a family of its own, Turneraceae, or to the Passifloraceae; the APG III classification places it in Passifloraceae, though some botanical papers still maintain Turneraceae as separate.[2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114000658) NCBI lists the species under taxonomy ID 329212, rank species, within the lineage [Malpighiales](https://www.edgepedia.org/malpighiales), Passifloraceae, *Turnera*.[6](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=329212&mode=Info) ITIS records the taxonomic status as accepted, with damiana as the English common name.[7](https://itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=22215) [Vernacular](https://www.edgepedia.org/vernacular) names recorded by Kew include damiana, genuine damiana, Herb de la pastora, Herb del venado, Pastorcita, Rompe camisa macho, and Yerba damiana; the synonym *Turnera diffusa* var. *aphrodisiaca* (Ward) Urb. carries its own vernacular names.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information)\n\n## Description and distribution\n\nDamiana is a low, often densely branched shrub, less than 1 m tall, with younger parts and leaf undersides densely puberulous (covered with fine short hairs). The leaves are oblanceolate or obovate, 6–15 mm long, coarsely crenate-dentate, with the underside minutely and densely glandular. Peduncles are very short or obsolete, with linear-subulate bracteoles 2–4 mm long. The calyx is five-toothed, 3–4 mm long, and the petals are bright yellow, up to 8 mm long. The fruit is a capsule 3–4 mm long with reticulate-striate seeds 1.5–2 mm long.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) A description from the [Nicaragua](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicaragua) flora gives erect or spreading shrubs 15–70 cm tall, many-branched from a woody base, with coriaceous (leathery) blades 4–10 mm long and yellow spatulate petals 4–6 mm long.[8](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0001143048%3Bjsessionid%3D4E7D83A6F4AF008BB2F381E91D0B133F)\n\nThe species grows usually in arid rocky scrublands and is native from southern Texas through Mexico and Central America to the Caribbean (including the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and the [Cayman Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/cayman-islands)) and eastern Brazil.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) • [8](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0001143048%3Bjsessionid%3D4E7D83A6F4AF008BB2F381E91D0B133F) A 2024 extinction-risk assessment for the world's flowering plants predicted the species is not threatened, with confident rating.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information)\n\n## Traditional and modern uses\n\nIn some countries the leaves are used to make an aromatic tea reputed to be an aphrodisiac.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information) [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/memorial-sloan-kettering-cancer-center)'s herbal summary records traditional use as a diuretic, laxative, stimulant, and aphrodisiac, and for treating diabetes and venereal diseases, and notes there is limited evidence of damiana's stimulant effects.[4](https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/damiana) Historical accounts describe the plant as, during the 17th century, allegedly one of the most important medicinal plants of northern Central America, in the period when the region was first studied by scientifically interested Europeans, usually missionaries.[2](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114000658)\n\nOther traditional uses of *Turnera* species include treatment of anemia, bronchitis, cough, diabetes, fever, fungal disease, gastrointestinal complaints, pain, pulmonary and respiratory diseases, skin disorders, and women's health problems, and use as abortives, expectorants, and laxatives.[9](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24468305/)\n\n## Phytochemistry and bioactivity\n\nPhytochemical work on the genus has found 22 different flavonoid compounds, maltol glucoside, phenolics, 7 cyanogenic glycosides, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, triterpenoids, the polyterpene ficaprenol-11, fatty acids, and caffeine.[9](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24468305/) Experimentally proven bioactivities for *Turnera* species include antianxiety, antiaromatase, antibacterial (including antimycobacterial), antidiabetic, antioxidant, adaptogenic, antiobesity, antispasmodic, cytotoxic, gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, and aphrodisiac activities, but most of these have been investigated only in chemical, cell-based, or animal assays.[9](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24468305/) A notable exception is the flavonoid apigenin, identified in animal experiments as the antinociceptive (pain-blocking) principle of *Turnera diffusa*.[9](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24468305/) The secondary metabolites pinocembrin and acacetin isolated from *T. diffusa* show inhibitory activity against the aromatase enzyme, while apigenin 7-glucoside, Z-echinacin, and pinocembrin show estrogenic activity.[10](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10675026)\n\n## Clinical evidence and regulation\n\nNo clinical research has examined the sexual-function effects of *T. diffusa* on its own; the studies that do exist looked at combination supplements containing damiana alongside other ingredients, including *Ginkgo biloba* and *Panax ginseng*.[11](https://www.drugs.com/npp/damiana.html) A small study in women with sexual dysfunction showed that ArginMax, a product containing damiana, improved sexual function.[4](https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/damiana) A 2023 review of the genus reports that damiana leaf extracts are now the only pharmaceutical therapy option in Germany for treating women suffering from female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD), citing the approved phytotherapeutic product Remisens, one film-coated tablet three times a day.[12](https://feminamlibido.com/b3.pdf) The same review concludes that the evidence supports the use of *T. diffusa* as an aphrodisiac, noting that its aphrodisiac activity alone has been demonstrated in animal models and in at least one clinical trial.[12](https://feminamlibido.com/b3.pdf)\n\nIn terms of regulation, [Health Canada](https://www.edgepedia.org/health-canada)'s Licensed Natural Health Products Database lists 272 authorized products that name *Turnera diffusa* as a medicinal ingredient, with the match made on the precise Latin binomial; among the licensed extract types are dry, fluid, and extract type TBA, whose source material is described variously as dried leaves, flowers, and young stem sections gathered at flowering time, leaf, leaf and stem, and fruit extract.[5](https://metatronhealth.org/substances/turnera-diffusa/) Kew's Medicinal Plant Names Services records an E-Kommission (German Commission E) unapproved status for the plant covering 1984 to 1994.[13](https://mpns.science.kew.org/mpns-portal/plantDetail?dbs=wcsCmp&plantId=2519363) The EFSA Compendium of Botanicals holds 11 constituent measurements for the species.[5](https://metatronhealth.org/substances/turnera-diffusa/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A836578-1/general-information)\n2. [Ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and bioactivity of the genus Turnera (Passifloraceae) with a focus on damiana, Journal of Ethnopharmacology (ScienceDirect)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114000658)\n3. [Turnera diffusa, International Plant Names Index](https://www.ipni.org/n/836578-1)\n4. [Damiana, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, About Herbs](https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/damiana)\n5. [Turnera diffusa: constituents, safety records and regulatory presence, Metatron Health](https://metatronhealth.org/substances/turnera-diffusa/)\n6. [NCBI Taxonomy Browser, Turnera diffusa (Taxonomy ID 329212)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=329212&mode=Info)\n7. [ITIS Report: Turnera diffusa (TSN 22215)](https://itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=22215)\n8. [Turnera diffusa Willd. ex Schult., World Flora Online](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0001143048%3Bjsessionid%3D4E7D83A6F4AF008BB2F381E91D0B133F)\n9. [Ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and bioactivity of the genus Turnera, PubMed abstract](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24468305/)\n10. [Bioactivity of the Genus Turnera: A Review of the Last 10 Years, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10675026)\n11. [Damiana Uses, Benefits & Dosage, Drugs.com](https://www.drugs.com/npp/damiana.html)\n12. [Bioactivity of the Genus Turnera: A Review of the Last 10 Years (full text)](https://feminamlibido.com/b3.pdf)\n13. [Plant name details for Turnera diffusa, Medicinal Plant Names Services, Kew](https://mpns.science.kew.org/mpns-portal/plantDetail?dbs=wcsCmp&plantId=2519363)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Rosids › Malpighiales, Myrtales, and Brassicales › Malpighiales*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Turnera diffusa\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Turnera diffusa](https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa](https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Turnera diffusa\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/turnera-diffusa. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Turnera diffusa, a Passifloraceae shrub native from southern Texas to Brazil, is a traditional herbal tea plant reputed as an aphrodisiac, with flavonoid-rich leaves, licensed Canadian products, and German FSIAD therapy use." }