Epimedium Leaf/Horney Goat Weed (Epimedium grandiflorum)

Horny Goat or Epimedium Grandiflorum. A common herb used medicinally for sexual performance issues, sex drive, pain, fatigue, and memory loss. In magic practices, it may be used to enhance libido in men and women, sexual functions.

Epimedium is a perennial, ivy-like, ground shrub that is native to China, Japan, and Korea. Epimedium grandiflorum is a member of the Berberidaceae family which includes barberry and Oregon grape root. Referred to as yin yang huo in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), epimedium leaf has been used for centuries for its beneficial properties. Also called horny goat weed, it is typically prepared as an infusion or extract.

Epimedium is an ivy-like ground shrub of the higher and drier areas of China and Tibet. It is in the same plant family as barberry and Oregon grape, and its first recorded use is circa 200 B.C.E. in China. The name of the herb in Mandarin, yin yang huo, roughly corresponds to "weed for licentious goat." Legend has it that a goat herder discovered the properties of epimedium by observing his billy goats' uncontrollable sexual appetites after they grazed on the herb.