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✦ Imphepho · in one breath ✦
The first medicine revealed to the Sangoma — the active call to the lineage.
⊹ The path of the plant
⊹ Community voices
What the community murmurs.
Average · 199 reviews
Breakdown
Helps me sleep deeply and calms me down when I have an anxiety attack Pleasant taste Delicious to smoke in a glass pipe. Deep sleep guaranteed Psychoactive effects rather light but very present and pleasant Very mystical, floating and visions/introspective. I'm a fan. Impeccable quality
Nébuleuse
Ritual · 27 May 2025
I drink Impepho at night and I sleep within 20 minutes of taking it! Great for insomnia and does well with ashwaganda in a tea. Smoking Impepho brings in you people and I look forward to seeing how it works with other herbs that are smudged like Mexican Tarragon and Ditteany Crete. Who will come forward in deep meditation.
Arryelle Banahene
Ritual · verified purchase · 29 January 2025
I drink Impepho at night and I sleep within 20 minutes of taking it! Great for insomnia and does well with ashwaganda in a tea. Smoking Impepho brings in you people and I look forward to seeing how it works with other herbs that are smudged like Mexican Tarragon and Ditteany Crete. Who will come forward in deep meditation.
Arryelle Banahene
Ritual · verified purchase · 29 January 2025
Ask the Forest about Imphepho
276 books digested, 90,000 indexed passages. She answers on lineages, synergies, cautions, ritual variations.
The community space of Imphepho.
Voices, circles, practitioners, offerings — gathered around this plant.
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What is imphepho?
Imphepho (Helichrysum odoratissimum) is an aromatic plant from South Africa, of the Asteraceae family, with small silver-yellow flowers that dry without losing their colour — hence her name of everlasting. South African healers (sangoma) burn her as ceremonial incense to open the space and call the ancestors; she is nicknamed 'the telephone to the spirits'.
What are the traditional uses of imphepho?
Imphepho is traditionally burned in fumigation to open a ceremonial space and invite the presence of the ancestors, and drunk as a light infusion in the evening, where she accompanies sleep and dream work. Mattresses used to be stuffed with her (kooigoed, 'stuff for the bed') for her soothing aroma. She is a plant of occasional ritual use, not a banal daily tea.
How do I use imphepho?
Three paths. In fumigation — burn a small quantity of dried plant on a charcoal or as a bundle, with intention. As an infusion — 1 teaspoon for a cup of hot water (90 °C), 7 to 10 minutes, in the evening, reusable up to 3 times. As a complement of a smoking blend — a small proportion. INFUSE offers the whole dried plant in 10g, 20g and 50g.
Is imphepho a sage or a smudge?
No. White sage belongs to the Native American practice of smudge — she cleanses, she expels. Imphepho belongs to the South African tradition — she invites. To burn imphepho is to call the ancestors by their name, not to close a circle by purification. Tradition moreover recommends never mixing imphepho and sage in the same ritual.
Does imphepho favour dreams?
In the traditional use, imphepho drunk in a light infusion before bedtime accompanies a peaceful sleep and supports dream memory; the healers use her for incubation and dream clarity. Many people associate her with lucid dreaming and dream recall. Keeping a notebook by the bedside helps to collect what comes up.
How do I prepare an imphepho infusion?
Pour a cup of hot water (about 90 °C) over 1 teaspoon of dried plant, let her infuse for 7 to 10 minutes, then strain. The taste is earthy with subtle floral undertones and a light bitterness — adjust the quantity to your taste. The same plant can be re-infused up to 3 times before being composted. Best drunk in the evening.
Where does INFUSE's imphepho come from and how is she harvested?
Our imphepho is wild-harvested in South Africa, her area of origin, and laboratory-controlled in France. The vernacular name 'imphepho' in fact covers several species of Helichrysum used interchangeably, Helichrysum odoratissimum being the most used.
Does imphepho have use precautions?
A few markers. To be avoided in ingestion during pregnancy and breastfeeding, for lack of data. People allergic to Asteraceae (mugwort, daisy, ragweed) abstain. Any smoke remains smoke — limit prolonged inhalation in case of asthma. Do your own research (DYOR) and consult a health professional in case of doubt.
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In depthbotany · phytochemistry · history
### Botany
Helichrysum odoratissimum is a strongly aromatic perennial plant of the Asteraceae family, reaching up to 1.75 m tall. She bears small silvery, downy leaves, and clusters of golden-yellow flowerheads. The genus name comes from the Greek hēlios (sun) and chrysos (gold) — the sun-golden flower; the epithet odoratissimum signals "the most fragrant". Native to South Africa, she grows in meadows, fynbos margins and open terrains, and is met widely across the country.
The vernacular name "imphepho" does not designate a single plant but a whole use: several species of Helichrysum are used interchangeably, including Helichrysum odoratissimum (the most common), Helichrysum petiolare and Helichrysum cymosum. The healers distinguish these species in practice, but trade often groups them. The genus Helichrysum is vast — several hundred species distributed mainly in Africa, in Madagascar and around the Mediterranean. Schultes and Hofmann document Helichrysum of southern Africa, including in Zululand [Plants of the Gods, p. 76-77].
A morphological particularity founds her symbolism: the dry flowerheads keep their colour for years. She is the "everlasting" plant, the immortelle — a bouquet harvested in summer remains luminous long after. The plant is thus the physical witness of what she evokes ritually: continuity, the thread that does not break.
### Phytochemistry (descriptive)
The genus Helichrysum presents a rich chemical profile. One finds flavonoids (kaempferol, quercetin, luteolin), pyrones — including arzanol, a characteristic compound of the genus —, phloroglucinols, sesquiterpenes and diterpenes, as well as essential oils (alpha-pinene, alpha-cedrene, neryl acetate). Rätsch reports the detection of phloroglucinol derivatives, coumarins and diterpenes in South African species of Helichrysum [The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants, p. 562-563]. The so recognisable aroma — described as a soft curry blended with honey and musk — holds in this combination of volatile terpenes.
### What the studies report
The data available often concern the genus Helichrysum as a whole and remain largely preliminary or in vitro; they describe properties observed in the laboratory, not guaranteed effects in humans. Works report an antioxidant activity (attributed to flavonoids and phenolic compounds) and antimicrobial for certain extracts, as well as, for Helichrysum odoratissimum specifically, a sedative-type activity described in the mouse (the authors evoke an interaction with the GABA system). These observations illuminate the traditional soothing and nocturnal use of the plant without making her a therapeutic promise. As for any plant, these research leads do not replace medical advice.
On the experiential plane, the accounts of smoke use describe a calm, spacious state, sometimes close to waking dream — a relaxation of the body while consciousness remains clear. It is this contemplative quality, more than spectacular effects, that tradition seeks.
### Lineage & history
Imphepho is one of the most used ceremonial plants of South Africa. The diviner-healers (sangoma) burn her to open the sacred space at the beginning of a consultation and invite the presence of the ancestors; David Cumes, doctor trained in this tradition, describes the burned offering of imphepho as a gesture of opening and call to the spirits [Africa in My Bones, p. 42-43]. The plant accompanies the great passages — births, unions, funerals — and, in several communities, she is burned at dawn or dusk, those moments where the border between the worlds appears thinner.
Beyond the ritual context, the domestic uses are ancient. In Afrikaans, the plant is named kooigoed — "stuff for the bed": for centuries, mattresses have been stuffed with her for her fragrance and her soothing effect. In the Eastern Cape, she is inhaled for protection and to soften cough and colds; elsewhere, she is taken as a sedative infusion. The genus Helichrysum also has a history of tea in South Africa — Helichrysum serpyllifolium is drunk there under the name of "Hottentot tea" [Rätsch, p. 562-563].
Imphepho inscribes herself in one of the oldest pharmacopoeias of the world, that of southern Africa — cradle of very ancient human lineages — which also counts kanna, wild dagga or rooibos. To touch this plant is to touch a deep root.
### Imphepho is not a sage
A confusion has settled with the fashion of "smudge sticks": imphepho is sometimes sold as an "African sage". This is a misreading. The smudge with white sage belongs to Native American traditions and aims to cleanse, to expel. Imphepho belongs to the South African tradition and does the opposite — she invites, she calls. She is burned to name one's dead and open the dialogue, not to close a space by purification. Tradition moreover transmits a clear instruction: do not mix imphepho and sage in the same ritual, because the two plants answer to distinct cosmologies. To honour imphepho is to employ her in her own frame, under her own name.
### Safety & sustainability
Imphepho is not an everyday plant: her use is occasional and intentional. In ingestion, one avoids her during pregnancy and breastfeeding, for lack of data. People allergic to Asteraceae (mugwort, daisy, ragweed) abstain. Any smoke remains smoke — limit prolonged inhalation, especially in case of asthma or respiratory fragility, and air the room. The effect being able to be soothing, it is better not to drive after a marked use. Do your own research (DYOR) and ask the advice of a health professional in case of treatment or particular condition.
On the plant side: growing demand has raised concerns of over-harvesting in certain regions of South Africa. Traceability and provenance therefore deserve sustained attention — a point that the sector is meant to clarify.
« Every plant is a door. Imphepho opens onto a long companionship — listen to it more than you measure it. »