Photo: Qwert1234, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Horny Goat Weed
Epimedium sagittatum
Also known as Yin Yang Huo, Barrenwort, Bishop's Hat, Fairy Wings, Rowdy Lamb Herb
Key benefits
✦Traditional uses
✦In Chinese herbalism, Epimedium sagittatum has been known for centuries as Yin Yang Huo, one of the classic tonics for what practitioners called kidney yang, the body's deep reserve of warmth and vigor. Old herbals from the Tang dynasty onward describe it as a restorative for tired backs, cold limbs, and flagging stamina in old age. It has traditionally been used to support circulation and to help those recovering from long illness regain their strength. The plant's folk name traces back to herders in Sichuan who noticed their goats grow notably frisky after browsing its leaves, a story that has followed the herb ever since.
How to grow & use it
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“For the quiet hour when the body asks for warmth, and old stamina to be coaxed back.”
The plant earned its common name from a Sichuan legend about a goat herder who noticed his flock grew unusually amorous after grazing on its leaves, a story herbalists have retold for generations.
Horny goat weed acts on hormones and blood pressure, so it can interact with blood pressure medication and blood thinners, and it's best avoided by anyone with a hormone-sensitive condition, in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, or for children. Taking too much, especially late in the day, has been linked to dizziness, nosebleeds, and trouble sleeping.