Buy ethnobotanicals online. Blue lotus, kanna, wild dagga, and rare botanicals, lab-tested.

about ethnobotanicals

What is an ethnobotanical?

Ethnobotany is the study of how cultures use plants. An ethnobotanical, loosely, is any plant with a long human history of intentional, non-culinary use: for ceremony, for ritual, for sleep, for connection. The word covers an enormous range of plants, and it is the term most people reach for when they are hunting down a specific herb they read about but can't find on a grocery shelf.

It's a wide category. The fermented succulent of southern Africa (kanna), the river-edge flowers of ancient Egypt (blue lotus), the harmala seeds of the eastern Mediterranean (syrian rue) all live under the same broad tent. So do quieter, better-documented plants like wild lettuce, passion flower, and the various wild dagga preparations. Below is a short, plain-language guide to the ethnobotanicals people ask us about most.

Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum)

So what is kanna? Kanna is Sceletium tortuosum, a low, sprawling succulent native to the arid Cape regions of South Africa. It is the single most-searched ethnobotanical we stock, and for good reason: the kanna plant has one of the longest continuous traditions of use of anything in this catalog. The San and Khoikhoi peoples of southern Africa historically fermented the harvested plant, packing it to cure over several days before drying it, a step that gives traditional kanna its distinct character.

We carry kanna in a few forms. Our kanna powder is the finely milled plant, the most common way people buy kanna, while Kanna Coarse is the coarse-cut leaf material sourced directly from a South African partner. If you want a liquid instead, the kanna tincture is an alcohol-based kanna extract in a dropper bottle. We make no health or therapeutic claims about any of them; we describe what the plant is and where it comes from, and leave the rest to your own research.

Wild dagga (Leonotis leonurus)

Wild dagga is Leonotis leonurus, a tall shrub in the mint family known by the English common name "Lion's Tail" for its spikes of furry orange tubular flowers. It is native to South Africa, from the eastern Cape to Natal, where Zulu people and other groups have a long recorded history with the plant. We stock the wild dagga flowers as the dried whole flower, plus a concentrated Wild Dagga 20x extract. Its close cousin klip dagga (Leonotis nepetifolia, "Lion's Ear") is a separate but related plant we also carry.

Syrian rue (Peganum harmala)

Syrian rue is Peganum harmala, a hardy perennial that grows as a low shrub across a broad band of dry country from the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East into South Asia. It is one of the oldest documented ceremonial plants in the world, used spiritually and religiously by many cultures for thousands of years, and its seeds were historically a source of a red dye. We sell the whole syrian rue seeds by weight. This is a plant that rewards careful reading before purchase: peganum harmala contains potent compounds that interact strongly with certain medications, so research it thoroughly and speak with a healthcare practitioner. We make no claims about its use.

West African seeds: akuamma and hunteria

Two West African seeds get confused constantly, so it is worth being precise. True akuamma is Picralima nitida, a rainforest tree of the lower Niger; we do not currently stock it. What we do carry is Hunteria umbellata, a related tree in the same dogbane family (Apocynaceae) whose seeds are known regionally as "Erin" and sometimes sold under the loose nickname "false akuamma." They are different plants from different genera, and we label ours as exactly what it is. Both are comparatively uncommon on the Western botanical market, which is precisely the kind of supply chain where mislabeling thrives, so identity verification matters here more than almost anywhere.

Wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa)

Wild lettuce is Lactuca virosa, a tall herb in the daisy family and a wild cousin of the lettuce in your garden. Native to Europe and naturalized widely, it exudes a milky white latex when cut, historically collected and called lactucarium. We carry Oregon-grown cut-and-sifted wild lettuce aerial parts, a concentrated wild lettuce extract, and a wild lettuce tincture. As with everything on this page, we sell it for educational and research purposes and make no therapeutic claims.

Kanna

Kanna Powder

Wild dagga

Wild Dagga Flowers

Syrian rue

Syrian Rue

Why we're picky about sourcing

Ethnobotanicals are uniquely vulnerable to substitution and adulteration in the supply chain. The same plant can vary enormously by source, season, and processing, and most online sellers disclose none of that. We verify species identity before a product is listed, source direct from growers and small importers who specialize in a single region rather than from anonymous middleman warehouses, and screen for heavy metals and microbial load using the same protocols as our kratom. If a batch doesn't pass, it doesn't get listed.

Forms we carry

• Leaves & flowers: dried whole-plant material, the most flexible form.
• Roots & barks: denser, slower-to-extract material.
• Seeds: sold whole by weight, like syrian rue and the West African seeds.
• Extracts & resins: concentrated by ratio (4:1, 20x, 25x), and tinctures, which are liquid alcohol extracts.