Harpagophytum procumbens Seeds | Devil’s Claw

Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) with trailing stems, lobed leaves and pink trumpet flowers in dry red sand — Devil’s Claw (*Harpagophytum procumbens*): Pedaliaceae, a tuberous herb of the Kalahari whose root is a major documented anti-inflammatory herb.

LATIN NAME: Harpagophytum procumbens

COMMON NAME: Devil’s Claw

Plant Profile

Devil’s Claw is a trailing perennial of the sesame family from the Kalahari and Karoo of southern Africa, creeping across dry red sand with prostrate stems, grey-green lobed leaves and large, pinkish-purple trumpet flowers through summer. The fruit that names it follows: a heavy, woody capsule armed with hooked claws that catch the feet of passing animals.

Beneath the sand the plant stores its wealth in thick, secondary tubers, which have been dug as medicine by the region’s peoples for generations and are now the raw material of a major international herbal trade. It is a plant of sun, deep sand and long dry seasons.

Science & Biotechnology

The root is standardised on the iridoid glycoside harpagoside, and European monographs base dosing on fifty to one hundred milligrams a day; at that level the evidence for non-specific low back pain and hip and knee osteoarthritis is among the better in herbal rheumatology, with randomised trials reporting benefit comparable to reference anti-inflammatory drugs in some studies.

Evidence for inflammatory arthritis is negative, the herb is contraindicated in gastric and duodenal ulcers, and its conservation has become a research subject too: wild harvesting from the Kalahari pressures the species, and cultivated programmes in Namibia and elsewhere now supply much of the trade. Field studies of its pollination document a specialized relationship with certain solitary bees of the arid zone, the kind of dependency that makes habitat loss a double threat.

Uses & Benefits

Its work is medicinal and serious: a documented remedy for back and joint discomfort, taken as standardised extracts under professional guidance, not a garden novelty therapy. In the garden it is a curiosity of the dry border.

The trumpet flowers feed specialist bees of the arid zones, the hooked fruits hitchhike on fur as the species has always intended, and a pot of it in gritty sun makes an odd, handsome specimen for the collector of desert plants. In its home range the tubers have been dug and traded for generations, and modern regulated harvesting works alongside community-managed wild stands under Namibian oversight.

Growing from Seed

Sow in spring onto a light seed compost, cover thinly, and keep it warm, bright and evenly moist; germination is improved by a hot-water soak overnight.

Grow the young plants in full sun and sharp drainage, potting deep to suit the forming tuber, and water sparingly once established. In temperate climates it is a summer pot plant, lifted dry and frost-free through winter. Keep the pot on the dry side through winter dormancy and resume watering only when new growth shows; the tuber rots fast in a cold, wet compost. Sow more seed than you need; germination in this species runs uneven, and a tray thinned from abundance beats one coaxed from a dozen seeds.

Our Take

A Kalahari herb with hooks on its fruit and medicine in its tubers. Deep sand, strong sun, and professional guidance for the root: that is the whole arrangement.

Herb Seeds