Dioscorea dregeana (Wild Yam)
The Zulu names for Dioscorea dregeana are udakwa and isidakwa respectively mean inducing drowsiness and a drunkard. It is a profound sedative that is used to treat epilepsy, hysteria, insomnia and acute psychosis.
This potent narcotic is used to sedate violent, psychotic patients and is also used as an analgesic. In earlier times Wild Yam was used as general anaesthetic to enable fractures of the limbs to be to be manipulated and stabilised by traditional bonesetters. The tuber of Discorea dregean is generally taken orally or as a weak decoction with an adequate dose resulting in sleep within 20-30 minutes.
One ounce is equivalent to 10-15 offerings.
Little else is known about this interesting ethnobotanical. Absolutely not to be consumed.
Our Wild Yam is in the form of small chunks.
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Nelumbo nucifera–Sacred Lotus
The Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) possesses great significance in Eastern religion. Apart from its majestic beauty, the Nelumbo nucifera Lotus is held sacred because of the mystical effects it can produce.
Nelumbo nucifera was often smoked or made into a tea with the idea that it would create a feeling of joy that permeated the mind and body. The flower of the Sacred Lotus was immortalized in Homer’s The Odyssey, in which Ulysses and his crew come ashore on the Island of the Lotus-Eaters.
The tubers that form at the bottom of the plant in the winter were and are commonly used as food my Native American tribes and in Japan.
We sell dried petals of the Sacred Lotus flower, which resemble tobacco leaves in appearance and texture and Sacred Lotus seeds.
To grow Nelumbo nucifera Sacred Lotus from seed, file down one side of the seed with sand paper until there is a small amount of white color showing and place the seed in water. The Sacred Lotus seed should swell over the next few days and sprout within a week, growing quickly for the next couple of weeks. There are enough nutrients in the Nelumbo nucifera seed to support the plant for 30 days, but it should be planted as soon as practical. Plant in a pot with plenty of room for root growth below and around the seed (at least 4 inches) and place in water with the top of the pot between 12 and 18 inches below the surface of the water. Leaves will appear within a month and the plant should bloom in the second growing season.
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