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.
 
Directions of use: Teas, tinctures, encapsulations of the leaf or powder.
 
Botanical Name: Epimedium grandiflorum C. Morren