Muira Puama: root bark from the Amazon basin
Muira Puama is the indigenous name for Ptychopetalum olacoides, a shrub or small tree in the Olacaceae family that reaches around five metres. It carries oblong, lance-shaped leaves in a bright green and small white flowers on short stalks, spaced along the branches between the leaves. Those flowers give off a penetrating scent that reminds many people of jasmine. The species grows in the Brazilian Amazon and further north in South America.
The name is generally translated as potency wood, and the herb has been part of Brazilian plant lore for centuries. Root and bark were traditionally simmered in water and drunk as a tea, a habit that later spread well beyond the Amazon. The bark contains fatty acids, plant sterols including beta-sitosterol, and an alkaloid known as muirapuamine. One point about naming: Liriosma ovata is sometimes sold under the same trade name muira puama, although it is a different tree with a different profile. This bag holds 50 grams of dried root bark of Ptychopetalum olacoides.
Preparing a Muira Puama decoction
Root bark is woody and releases its flavour slowly, so a quick infusion will not do much. Use one to two teaspoons of bark per cup of roughly 250 ml, put it in a pan of water and let it sit just below the boil for ten to fifteen minutes. Strain the bark out afterwards. The taste is woody and dry; a spoon of honey or a slice of lemon rounds it off. You can also combine the bark with other herbs from the same shelf.
Good to know
Store the bark dry and dark in a well-sealed bag or jar and it will keep for a long time. Keep the herb out of reach of children and do not use it during pregnancy or breastfeeding. If you take medication, talk to your doctor first. In the same category at Avalon Magic Plants you will find catuaba bark, the Aphrodite mix with damiana and loose damiana leaf.
