Silene capensis (also known as African Dream Root) is a plant native to the Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...

 of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, where it is regarded by the Xhosa people as a sacred plant

Entheogen

An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...

. Its root is traditionally used to induce vivid (and according to the Xhosa, prophetic) lucid

Lucid dreaming

A lucid dream is a dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. The term was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden . In a lucid dream, the dreamer can actively participate in and manipulate imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can seem real and...

 dreams during the initiation process of shamans, classifying it a naturally occurring oneirogen

Oneirogen

Oneirogen, from the Greek oneiros meaning "dream" and gen "to create," describes that which produces a dream-like state of consciousness. Usually used in reference to drugs such as Artemisia vulgaris , Calea zacatechichi , Entada rheedii , Silene capensis , Tabernanthe iboga, and Salvia Divinorum,...

 similar to the more well-known dream herb Calea zacatechichi

Calea zacatechichi

Calea zacatechichi, also known as Dream Herb, Leaf of God, and Bitter Grass, is a plant used by the indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca for oneiromancy The plant naturally occurs from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica...

.

In cultivation it is an easily grown but moisture hungry herb, but tolerant of extreme heat (+40C) and moderate cold (-5C). A moisture retentive seedbed is essential. The flowers open at night and close in the day. They are very fragrant and smell something like cloves, jasmine and bananas.
It acts a biennial to short lived perennial and the root can be harvested after the second year.