Schisandra Berries Organic

Schisandra Berry (Schisandra chinensis)

There is no other herb quite like schisandra. Where most botanicals offer one or two dominant flavors, schisandra offers all five — sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty — contained within a single small, bright red berry. In Chinese it is called wu-wei-zi, meaning "five taste fruit," and this extraordinary complexity of flavor is not merely a curiosity. In the framework of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is considered a sign of the plant's exceptional completeness — a botanical that addresses the whole person rather than a single complaint. It is, accordingly, one of the 50 fundamental herbs of TCM, a list that represents the deepest inner circle of that tradition's most trusted and revered botanicals.

A deciduous woody vine native to the northern forests of China, Russia, and Korea — also known as magnolia vine for its graceful climbing habit — schisandra produces clusters of vivid red berries that ripen in hanging bunches like tiny rubies against the forest canopy. It is an ornamental plant of real beauty, found in fine gardens around the world, though it is in the northern forests of China and the wilderness of eastern Russia that it has been most deeply understood and most continuously used.

Chinese folklore speaks of schisandra's ability to "calm the heart and quiet the spirit" — a poetic description that herbalists across centuries have found to be practically accurate. Russian hunters have relied on it for generations, brewing the dried berries into a tea to sustain energy and combat fatigue on long expeditions through demanding terrain. In China the berries have been made into juices, wines, sweets, and extracts for as long as records exist. Both traditions, arriving at the plant from entirely different directions, found much of the same value in it.

The white film that sometimes appears on dried schisandra berries is simply the natural crystallization of sucrose from within the fruit — a harmless and entirely natural occurrence.

Schisandra berries are wonderfully versatile in preparation. Macerate them in dark fruit juice — half a cup to a gallon, left to soak for a full day before straining — for a richly flavored and deeply nourishing daily drink. Simmer them gently in tea decoctions and herbal brews, tincture them in alcohol, or allow them to soak in glycerin for a month to produce a beautifully complex schisandra syrup. One teaspoon a day in juice is a simple and lovely place to begin.

Precautions: The white film on these berries is the natural crystallization of sucrose and is not a cause for concern. Consult a qualified healthcare practitioner before use alongside medications. Not for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding except under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner. As with all herbal products, we recommend consulting a qualified healthcare practitioner before use, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking any medications.