Nature lover: UMass botanist searches the world's forests for libido boosters

Boston Herald | Christopher Cox

Got wood? Or roots? Or herbs?

Chris Kilham does. For the last decade, the Berkshires-based ethnobotanist has rambled around the world, from the rain forests of Malaysia to the mountains of Peru, looking for sex-enhancing botanicals.

He recounts the best of that Vegetable Kingdom Viagra in a new book, “Hot Plants’’ (St. Martin’s Griffin, $12.95).

“People have been using them for thousands of years,’’ said the medicine hunter, who tracks down new plants for the herbal industry. “In all different, traditional cultures, sex-enhancing plants typically occupy a very revered place, specifically because reproduction, sexual pleasure and function are so important to people.’’

On the high plains of Peru, Incan warriors once consumed maca, a member of the mustard family that raises energy as well as libido. In West Africa, the bark of the yohimbe tree has a long history as a sex booster. In China, the aptly named horny goat weed was prescribed in a 2,000-year-old medical text.

“In most cultures, once people approach middle age they’re looking for something to keep their vitality strong and the sexual function healthy,’’ said Kilham, explorer-in-residence at UMass-Amherst. “I don’t really think there’s that much difference.’’

The big difference is that much of the world’s population reaches for time-tested plants and herbs, rather than prescription drugs such as Cialis.

“Maca’s everywhere in Peru,’’ Kilham said. “People are eating the stuff, drinking it in shakes. Go to Malaysia and any convenience store or gas station has dozens of beverages containing Tongkut Ali (a rain forest root that increases testosterone levels).’’

In the course of his walks through the bush, Kilham naturally partook of these plants.

“People are very good-natured about sex-enhancing plants in their culture,’’ he said. “There’s a lot of friendly banter. You meet some characters, and there’s the occasional X-rated scene.”

Perhaps Kilham’s next project will deal with morning-after herbs.

He did offer a cautionary tale from the field: “I discovered I had to stop taking them because I wasn’t with a partner. It can be too much. There’s no benefit to being crazed with sexual desire and you’re just out there trying to get work done.’’

Awkward.

Unlike ED drugs such as Viagra, these hot plants are not “event-specific.’’

“You don’t take them an hour or two ahead of time,’’ said Kilham, whose legwork also led to Hot Plants For Him and For Her herbal formulas. “These are things you take on a daily basis. People should see results in two or three weeks.

“But instead of watching the clock, then taking a pill and hoping you get an erection on time, I like the idea of being sexually healthy and ready anytime - which is what these plants are all about.’’

But how do you know if it’s you - or the yohimbe?

“There’s no such thing as a placebo erection,’’ said Kilham. “If it looks and feels like an erection, it’s an erection.’’

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