Long story short...

I've been asking for healing guidance while meditating. I recently had a vision of a potted plant with an orange duck bill growing in it. (It even quacked at me.)

I did some google searches, and I found out about an African plant called Sutherlandia frutescens - also known as "duck plant".

I've never heard of this plant before. To my surprise, it's got a reputation for effectively treating some heavy hitting diseases. It's currently in some clinical trials for treating both cancer, and AIDS.

I'm going to post some of the conditions it is use to treat below. If anyone is suffering from these conditions, perhaps this information was meant for you. Meanwhile, I'm researching this plant, and tracking down some seeds so I can add it to my herb garden.

Hopefully, it's not pure quackery! HA! (Sorry, had to go there...)

CONDITIONS

asthma
fever
chicken pox
flu
rheumatism
hemorrhoids
diarrhea
stomach and liver problems
eye troubles
TB,
bronchitis
rheumatoid arthritis and osteo-arthritis
piles
bladder
uterus & 'women's' complaints
heartburn
peptic ulcer
backache
diabetes
varicose veins
inflammation
Cancer
HIV/AIDS (immunity booster)

It is also used in the treatment of mental and emotional stress, including irritability, anxiety and depression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherlandia_frutescens

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

Thanks Sunshine. You've gotta love the way the CS gets messages across! That was very creative and a great pickup by you.

Thanks, S!

One other funny detail... on "my" version, the leaves were shaped like little webbed duck feet! I saw that initially. My first thought, "Duck... plant?" Then I looked deeper into the pot, and saw the orange bill.Then it quacked at me loud enough to startle me out of the meditation.

Definitely duck plant!

;)

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

Sunshine,

I could use some. Is it available as a prepared herb or do you have to find seeds and grow your own?

Ted

Ditto - I am impressed!

(Let me know if you get any visions of winning numbers ;)

Doing an Internet search found seeds but no powder or anything medicinal.

Seeds are at: http://seedrack.com/09.html

I've ordered a packet of seeds, so we'll see.

I'm ordering both live plants and seeds from here:

www.horizonherbs.com

I haven't looked for a prepared herb, but it might be available. I haven't seen anything in the health food stores. Perhaps you can find a local herbalist near by?

My herbalism books don't mention anything about this plant, but they focus mostly on European and N. American species.

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

LOL - Believe me, I've TRIED...

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"Wherever you go, there you are."

Ted,

Found some places that sell it prepared. I think it's all based out of South Africa though...

http://www.sutherlandia.org/sources.html

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

I found this on one of the web pages.

African Botanicals .com
Suppliers of Sutherlandia frutescens tablets and Sutherlandia Gel and Big Tree Sutherlandia / African Ginsengâ„¢. Sutherlandia capsules sold in a 60x350mg vege-cap and the tablets are sold in 60x300mg doses.

Biogenesis AntiAging
Buy Sutherlandia 350mg capsules here and Sutherlandia Pro here. Biogenesis ships worldwide and has been operating online since 1997.

Big Tree Nutraceutical
Big Tree do a capsuled version of Sutherlandia. The Big Tree Sutherlandia (also called African Ginsengâ„¢) has an increased dosage size to 350mg per capsule. The capsules are suitable for vegetarians and contain only milled Sutherlandia frutescens subsp. microphylla, no fillers etc.

Terra Treatment
Terra Treatment offer Sutherlandia capsules which are shipped from The Netherlands to individuals in Europe and worldwide. They offer Sutherlandia tablets, gel and capsules.

AfricanHerbs
AfricanHerbs offer information on Sutherlandia and other African plants in both English and Dutch.

UPDATE:

I ordered both a live plant and seeds from Horizon Herbs and they arrived a few weeks ago. The live plant promptly dropped most of its leaves. I tucked it into a shady part of my potted herb garden and it recovered nicely.

I re-potted it this morning. It still looks a bit like Charley Brown's Xmas tree - but its much better than on arrival!

I also started the seeds indoors in peatmoss. Ok germination rate of about 60%. However, a couple of the seedlings died off - I didn't scarify the seeds hulls enough and the plants couldn't fully emerge.

So here they are, at long last in person. It's a curious feeling to have seen this plant in a vision, and now it's growing in my garden! There's something very special about that.

When they get a little bigger, I'll try a meditation with them, and see what they have to say. :)

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

Very cool Sunshine. I decided to wait until next Spring to try my seeds. It's just too hot here now. I did order the pills from South Africa. I've been giving them to my dachshund, Sparky, for the tumors on his face. I haven't seen much improvement. But it was worth a try.

Sainbury:

I'm sorry to hear about Sparky. Is he in pain from the tumors? :(

I figured I'd plant some now, some in fall (the rainy "second spring" we get in CA), and some in spring and see which season this plant likes best. It will probably take some trial and error - Some very experienced growers have reported difficulty. It doesn't seem well known in North America.

If I discover any cultivation techniques that work, I'll share them here.

If I'm successful, I'm planning on planting a nice bed of these plants. I feel a real spiritual connection to them - a real "Aha" moment when I discovered that they really exist. Any plant that takes the trouble to contact me via the CS deserves a prime spot in the garden!

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."

Sunshine - no he isn't in pain but one showed up on his face and then metastasized to two. I am very concerned because he is 12 now with bad liver values.

From everything I've read this is a difficult plant to cultivate. So I will be interested in your progress. It is listed as an annual but maybe in warmer climates it will keep going.

I'll send some healing energy your way!

Well, I've been trying to read how this thing grows in the wild. Can't find much more than "It's native to the Western Cape and Hills of Zululand". Much of that climate is classed Mediterranean, which is similar to Southern California. So I suspect it will like the dry summer followed by fall rains here.

It can grows into a 5' bush, but tires out after a few years. I'll try some in containers, and some in the ground. One recommendation is not to take it outdoors until it is warmer than 15 degrees C (59F). I may actually have to winter mulch in Southern California!

_________________
"Wherever you go, there you are."