Plant Profile: Wild Dagga

Also known as lion’s tail and klip dagga, for the resemblance of its orange flower petals to a lion’s taili. It’s scientific name is Leonotis leonurus. It is a large ever-green shrub in the mint family, and is Native to South Africa where it is revered in traditional medicine. Dagga has numerous ethnobotanicals uses due to its medicinal and psychoactive properties.

The various parts of the plant can be used to treat a variety of ailments, and it can be made into preparations applied topically, made into infusions and decoctions, and used in smoking blends.

It is also commonly referred to as “wild cannabis” because of the similarity of its effects. It has be used traditionally by people in South Africa in this way for its euphoric and relaxing effects.

Wild dagga can be taken alone or it can be mixed with other ethnobotanical herbs for various effects. Chemically, dagga contain cannabinoids similar to those found in cannabis.

Wild dagga is legal virtually everywhere.