Nymphaea alba 12:1 extract: white water lily in concentrated form
Nymphaea alba is the white water lily that floats on ditches, ponds and slow rivers across Europe. It roots in the mud at the bottom and pushes long stems up to the surface, where round floating leaves and the familiar white flowers with a yellow heart open up. It belongs to the Nymphaeaceae, the water lily family, which also includes blue and pink lotus. Flowers and rhizome have featured in European herbal tradition for centuries, and old herbals credit the flower with a calming, soothing reputation.
This jar contains 3 grams of extract at a ratio of 12:1, meaning twelve grams of plant material have been reduced to a single gram of powder. Three grams of extract therefore correspond to roughly 36 grams of dried material, so you need far less of it than of loose petals. Start small and build up slowly, so you can judge for yourself what a modest amount does.
Ways to prepare it
Three preparations are traditional for water lily, originally described for loose petals. With an extract you use a considerably smaller quantity.
- Let the powder steep in wine for a couple of hours, then drink it.
- Dissolve it in hot water as a tea. A bag of your favourite herbal blend alongside it softens the taste.
- Mix it with a smoking herb and use it in a pipe or a water pipe.
Storage and things worth knowing
Keep the jar cool, dry and dark, and out of reach of young children. If you take medication, are pregnant or are breastfeeding, speak to your doctor first. Do not combine it with alcohol or other substances, and do not drive. Avalon Magic Plants stocks dozens of other extracts in the same category, among them blue lotus, pink lotus 50X, damiana 10:1, wild dagga 20X and motherwort 12:1.
