This plant is a strongly aromatic, much-branched perennial herb with small silvery leaves and small yellow flower heads. Imphepho has had many uses throughout history, all of them of great interest. Most often, it is simply burned as ritual incense to invoke the goodwill of ancestors. Since Africans believe that ancestors make contact with them through their dreams, they employ imphepho’s aromatic incense in the dream ceremonies that are crucial to their culture.
On a related note, one of the more interesting historical uses of this plant is by healers in KwaZulu-Natal, who smoke imphepho either on its own, or mixed with a few dashes of shamanic tobacco. The smoke may also be inhaled as an incense rather than directly smoked.