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Mapping the Spirit Plants |
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Written by zekesdream
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Sunday, 27 January 2008 |
The ecological diversity of the South American rainforest is unmatched, and so it is no surprise that in these jungles reside most of the psychedelic tryptamine bearing plants known and used by humans.
Perhaps the most significant application of these plants has been as an admixture in the brew known as Ayahuasca. Employed for centuries by indigenous Amazonian cultures under the guidance of shamans, foliage from plants such as Chacruna (Psychotria viridis) and Chaliponga (Diplopterys cabrerana) are still utilized today by certain religious groups, such as União do Vegetal and Santo Daime. Another traditional preparation, known locally as Jurema Preta, is derived from the root bark of the Mimosa tenuiflora (also known as Mimosa hostilis) tree. Unlike Ayahuasca, which requires the MAOI properties of Yage (Banisteriopsis caapi) to stop the gastrointestinal breakdown of dimethyltryptamine, Jurema is apparently orally active on it’s own, perhaps due to a recently isolated compound named Yuremamine. Still another traditional shamanic practice was to prepare psychedelic snuffs by combining basifying agents such as lime or ash to react with potent resins and seeds, respectively from the Virola and Anadenanthera genera, which were then insufflated, often being blown into the nostrils through a long tube.
Although the traditional use of plants bearing psychedelic tryptamines such as DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, and Bufotenin appears to have been isolated to the South American continent, this was certainly not due to the absence of suitable plants elsewhere around the globe. In fact, a growing number of plant species from various continents have been discovered to contain substantial concentrations of these alkaloids. Notably, the genus Acacia in Australia includes perhaps dozens of species with some presence of psychoactive tryptamines. Species with consistently high concentrations include the endangered Acacia phlebophylla known only to occur in Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, as well as Acacia obtusifolia, and Acacia simplex. In North America and Europe, the grass species Phalaris arundinacea and Phalaris aquatica are quite common. While alkaloid concentrations in the Phalaris grasses are extremely variable depending upon genetics and growing conditions, at least a few strains have proven to be quite potent carriers, including Phalaris aquatica var. AQ-1 and the species Phalaris brachystachys. Another North American species, Desmanthus leptolobus contains DMT and related compounds in the root bark at fairly consistent levels, with the more widespread Desmanthus illinoensis being much more variable in alkaloid content. More recent research has indicated the presence of psychedelic tryptamines in several species of both the Delosperma genus from Africa and the Desmodium genus from Asia and the pacific islands. While dozens of other species from around the world have been reported to contain these compounds, little has been done in the way of substantiating and confirming the actual variability and typical concentrations of alkaloids. |
