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CITRUS MEDICA var. SARCODACTYLUS

FAMILY: RUTACEAE
BUDDHA’S HAND CITRON, MANO DE CHANGO: A large, fingered yellow fruit with a rind of strong lemon scent and taste and no (or very little) flesh, seeds or juice. This citrus has large, fragrant, white flowers on a rapidly growing tree and will usually flower and fruit in the first year of growth. The original specimens are believed to be from Northeastern India and were possibly the first citrus brought to Europe by the ancient Greek and Roman explorers.

The dried fruit has been used by the Chinese and Japanese for perfuming rooms and selected fruits (those with the “fingers” closed to resemble a praying hand) may be used as religious offerings in Buddhist Temples. The peel is used as “zest” in Western cuisine.

The name of this citrus is a good example of cultural differentiation between Mexico and South East Asia. In SE Asia, the plant is called “Buddha’s Hand” (a sacred hand) and here in Mexico it is called “Mano de Chango,” (monkey hand).

CALEA ZACATECHICHI

FAMILY :: COMPOSITAE
THLE-PELAKANO, “DREAM HERB”: Easily grown native Mexican subtropical shrub (probably hardy to the high 20ºs) with clusters of small white flowers. It is used medicinally for stomach problems. It quickly grows to about 2 meters tall and likes full or part sun and a bit of moisture.

It is called “the leaf of God” (Thle-pelakano) and used as a tea (of the dried leaves) for divination and to clarify the senses by the Chontal people of Oaxaca, Mexico. After drinking the tea, the dried leaves are smoked while resting in a darkened room. Has been reported to increase dreaming and/or the recollection of dreams. It produces a very restless sleep with intense dream sequences that are easily remembered.

I was introduced to this herb in the early 90’s in the form of an alcoholic extract. My favorite method of ingesting was to get myself prepared for bed in the evening, and then put 15 drops under my tongue. Sitting mellow and comfortable a slight wave of tiredness would come over me about 10 minutes later, lasting only a couple of minutes. If this wave was ignored, there would be no further effect, but if I went to bed straight away, I would drift off to sleep within a few minutes, ‘hypnotized’ by my slow but very amplified heartbeat. I would have many dreams of a profound and insightly nature (at least that’s how it felt at the time), which I would remember in every detail in the morning. There was a slight euphoric feeling that went with the realization of these dreams, or maybe it was just a really good nights sleep, but the mornings always had an upbeat note to them (in spite of the fact that I generally dislike mornings). If I was woken within the first hour of going to sleep, I would be surprised by the number and profoundness of my dreams in such a short timespan, but would not have anymore of these type of dreams after falling asleep again. Sadly, the extract from the same supplier no longer has that effect on me, and no other supplier ever produced an extract that could elicit these effects. This is why I started making my own from my homegrown herb. It is not done by Soxthlet extraction, which I believe destroys many active components, including that of Calea zacatechichi, and my method involves no heat applied to the material at any point in the manufacture, yet it is concentrated to reduce the amount of alcohol and the ‘volume of bitterness’. (Torsten/SAB)

MORE INFORMATION:
- Psychopharmacologic Analysis of an Alleged Oneirogenic Plant
- EROWID

SALVIA DIVINORUM

FAMILY: LAMIACEAE
DIVINE SAGE, PIPILTZINTZINTLI: This plant is used by the Mazatec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, for telepathy and clairvoyant insights.

It has square, winged stems and large (to 8″ long) fragile, dark green, almost iridescent leaves on a sprawling plant to 2 meters tall. Has hairy white ¾” flowers within purple bracts and calyxes. It flowers in winter, with flowering triggered by a day-length of 11 hours.

Grow in rich jungle soil or in a very large pot with a loose, moist, very rich soil mix high in humus. Tender to about 25° although will be damaged by any amount of frost. Salvia likes cool, 80° summer temperatures with high humidity: mist in hot weather or keep in a high-humidity (above 60%) environment.

Salvia has a light scent and a bitter taste, sunburns easily (grow in heavy shade) and is the favorite food of many greenhouse pests. Native shamans use(d) it by making a tea of 50-60 dried leaves (not well absorbed through the intestinal tract) or by keeping 6-18 chewed fresh leaves in the mouth (being absorbed through the mucus membranes of the mouth, a somewhat difficult task because of the bitterness). The dried leaves may be smoked, a much more effective method of ingestion.

There are many varieties available. Some are variations grown from seed and some are strains collected for various local shamans.

• “Blosser” (Palatable) strain: A descendant of a Salvia divinorum plant brought from Mexico to the USA by anthropologist, Bret Blosser, in the 1990s. Some people think that it is slightly less bitter tasting than the other clones.
• “Cerro Quemado” strain: A descendant of a Salvia divinorum plant collected by L.J. Valdes III, (the first person to isolate Salvinorin A, the active chemical in Salvia divinorum) near the village of Cerro Quemado, Mexico in the 1990s. Two good links for background information on this strain: Valdes, 1987, and Valdes, 1983.
• “La Fuerza” (The Force) strain: A strain collected by Kathleen Harrison, ethnobotanist and former wife of Terence McKenna, in January, 2001.
• “Hofmann & Wasson” strain: A descendant of the original Salvia divinorum plant brought from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the USA by Hofmann and Wasson in 1962.
• “Julieta” strain: A strain collected by Daniel Siebert from a Mazatec shaman in Huautla de Jimenez (in the Sierra Mazateca, Mexico) in 1999.
• Salvia divinorum “Luna” strain: A descendant of a Salvia divinorum plant growing under a Hofmann & Wasson clone, found by Daniel Seibert in Hawaii in 1994. this is possibly a seedling or a sport (mutation). It has a slightly different leaf form (more rounded and the edges more serrated) than the other clones listed here.
• “Owens” strain: A strain collected by Jack Owens on Cerro Rabon (in the Sierra Mazateca, Mexico) in June, 2003. Jack Owens was a major supplier of dried Salvia divinorum leaves to the US from Mexico. He died at the beginning of September, 2004 and this strain is named in his honor.
• “Paradox” strain: A cutting from a seed-grown strain raised by Daniel Siebert in 1994. Salvia divinorum derived from seed grown plants is very rare and should be valuable genetically.
• “Resilience” strain: A cutting from a seed-grown strain raised by Daniel Siebert in 2002.

LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION:

• Wikipedia
• Sagewisdom.org
• EROWID

BANISTERIOPSIS CAAPI

FAMILY :: MALPIGHIACEAE
YAGÉ, YAGE, AYAHUASCA VINE: A tropical liana growing to immense proportions in the rain forests of South America. This is the central plant in the Ayahuasca potions of Amazonian shamans. It is variously called “vine of the soul,” “the drink of reality,” and the “vine of the dead,” being considered man’s second umbilical cord to the universe.

In practice, the vine is always used with admixture plants (dozens have been documented) that produce uniquely varied effects from telepathy to visions of a heaven, the past, the future, to shamanic journeys, and to healing divination.

To prepare the vine the bark is removed, pounded or pulverized and is boiled down for many hours (with the Psycotria leaves) into a black syrup. A traditional mixture is about 1′ of ½” thick pieces per person per approximately 40 leaves of Psychotria viridis.

Yage is a strong MAO inhibitor that permits certain psychoactive chemicals (most often DMT from P. virirdis) to enter and effect the body’s nervous system. It is said that harmaline, of the type found in yagé, is capable of increasing the frequency of copulation in males.

To grow this plant outside of a tropical rain forest, it is necessary to provide it with high humidity, shade, rich, well-drained moist soil, and warmth (above 60º f. at night for growth and above 40º f. for simple survival). As with most plants, it will acclimate over time to more severe conditions but it will never be easy. It likes lots of root room and needs to be repotted regularly. In tropical consitions, it is extremely easy to grow and quickly grows to immense proportions. It can flower after as little as 3 years in tropical conditions but it will flower only after climbing through the canopy to the sun. All creatures do this.

In one scientific study matching ayahuasca with placibos, this formula was used to mask the somewhat horrible taste:
“To each liter of ayahuasca were added 70 g of artificial grape juice (®Fresh, Kraft Foods Brazil S.A.), 3ml of cherry essence (®Saborfort, Mix Industry of Food Products LTDA., Brazil) and 3ml of saccharin- and cyclamate-based artificial sweetener (®Finn, Boehringer Ingelheim Brazil). This procedure was designed to disguise the distinctive flavor, odor and color of ayahuasca in order to blind the volunteers regarding whether they received ayahuasca or vehicle-control.”

MORE INFORMATION:
Ayahuasca Study

MITRAGYNA SPECIOSA

FAMILY :: RUBIACEAE
KRATOM: A tender large tropical tree from Southeast Asia that is used as a stimulant in small doses (2-10 grams) and a sedative or euphoric in larger doses (up to 50 grams).

The leaves may be used fresh or dried by smoking, eating or in a tea. The effects are quite variable from person to person.

Kratom requires tropical conditions of humidity, warmth, rich soil and partial shade for good growth. Grows very rapidly, up to 2-3 meters a year. It goes semi-dormant in the winter, even in the tropics.

It contains the tryptamine alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine which are similar chemically to yohimbine in structure but not in effect. Medicinally, kratom is used as a pain killer, for diarrhea and as a treatment for opiate addiction. This plant is legal everywhere except in Australia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.

MORE INFORMATION:

KRATOM USER’S GUIDE

THEOBROMA CACAO

FAMILY :: MALVACEAE

CHOCOLATE, COCOA: A tropical tree whose seeds are the source of commercial chocolate.

This tree is at its northern limit for commercial growth in Puerto Vallarta. It loves shade and warmth and does not like wind at all. Naturally, it grows under a jungle canopy with lots of moisture. It is a heavy feeder and requires frequent fertilizing and watering and it grows very quickly, up to about 2 meters a year. It fruits in the 4th or 5th year.

Medicinally, chocolate is considered a stimulant and an aphrodisiac. The stimulating properties of chocolate are documented and well known but the aphrodisiac qualities are in dispute by some because they do not realize that the component of chocolate responsible for the reported aphrodisiac effects, Phenethylamine (PEA), is rapidly destroyed in oral consumption by MAO, lleading curious experimenters with the obvious solution of ingesting MAOIs simultaneously. …Look it up….

A short film about a small, organic chocolate company in Grenada:

YouTube  :: Grenada Chocolate Company

LINKS for more Information:

• The Chocolate Forum
• The Chocolate Museum
• The Field Museum Chocolate Exhibit
• Amano Chocolate

Nice set of videos about Cocoa production from the MARS Company:

YouTube  

YouTube  

YouTube  

YouTube  

RELATED XPLANTA ARTICLES:

• Chocolate Aids Fatigue Syndrome
• Cradle of Chocolate?
• Chocolate Invented by Aztecs Trying to Make Beer
• Cocoa » Encyclopedia of Diderot & d’Alembert

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