Leonotis leonurus, also known as Wilde dagga, Lion's Tail, Lion's Ear, Umunyane, Lebake, Umfincafincane or Umhlahlampetu is a species of plant in the Leonotis genus and the Lamiaceae (mint) family native to southern Africa.
Wilde dagga is smoked or made into a medicinal tea by the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) a tribe of South Africa. Wilde dagga is good for inducing a deep meditative sleep, calming, relaxing and enhancing dreaming. Because of its euphoric effects, Wilde dagga is often referred to as a Cannabis substitute.
Leonotis leonurus (Wilde dagga, Lion's Tail) species is also used in Eastern medicine as euphoriant, purgative, and vermifuge.
Wilde dagga also has a pleasant smell that can be used for incense.
Newstar-Chem pharmaceutical company asserts possible applications: (poorly translated via their website.) "treated the menstruation which was irregular, the uterine hemorrhage and the dysmenorrhea etc;The animal experimentation also indicated that the product could the increase the peripheral vascular ,the coronary artery and the cardiac muscle nutrition,increased the hematic flux,improved the micro circulation,and had the antithrombus to form".
In most common uses the leaves are picked, dried, and then brewed as a tea.
One experimental animal study suggest that "the aqueous leaf extract of L. leonurus possesses antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and hypoglycemic properties, and thus lend pharmacological credence to the suggested folkloric uses of the herb in the management and/or control of painful, arthritic, and other inflammatory conditions, as well as for adult-onset, type-2 diabetes mellitus in some communities of South Africa.".