By: Laura Murphy
This Weeks Herbal Highlight:
PASSIONFLOWER
Common Name: Passionflower
Latin: Passiflora incarnata
Family: Passifloracease
Passionflower is a perennial vine climbing up to 8 feet with amazingly beautiful white and lavender colored flowers. Native to the southeastern US and prefers moisture and humidity.
Fun Fact - This special plant is pollinated by bats!
Passionflower is a natural remedy that can help with both sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance insomnia. This plant is particularly helpful when circular thoughts keep us from having a good night's sleep, as we constantly replay the events of the day in our mind. Passionflower is often combined with other herbs, such as Valerian root and hops, to maximize its effectiveness. When combined with Skullcap, it's known as the S & P of the herbal world.
Recent research confirms that Passionflower is effective in supporting sleep. In one clinical trial, healthy adults with primary insomnia reported experiencing improved sleep quality after drinking a cup of Passionflower tea before bedtime (Ngan & Conduit, 2011). However, due to its bitter taste, it may be more pleasant to take Passionflower as a tincture or to combine it with other herbs that have a more pleasant taste.
Smoking passionflower:
Breaking the blood brain barrier for an instant relief, passionflower, is a great supporting smokable herb to mix into your herbal smoke blend or to mix with you cannabis. When smoked this herb is known to act as a strong relaxing nervine that helps to quiet the mind chatter while lulling you to sleep.
Passionflower is a lovely addition to a cannabis high, providing a mildly sedative effect that can balance out potent, high-THC strains that some users may find too stimulating. Additionally, passionflower has a warm and pleasant clove-like taste that pairs well with spicy strains that are dominated by caryophyllene, the peppery terpene.
Recommended Herbal Smoke Recipe:
Mullein, marshmallow leaf, Damiana, Passionflower, Skullcap, Lavender
Recommended Cannabis Strains
you can find at your local dispensary to match:
OG Kush
Bubba Kush
Skywalker OG
Interested in blending your own herbal smoke?
Loose herbs available on site.