FAMILY :: MALPIGHIACEAE
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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.
We offer 2 varieties. One is an old unnamed variety that I’ve grown for about 30 years, originally from a company called “Of The Jungle.” The second is variety called “Cielo,” a type of yellow caapi that was originally brought to the US from Peruvian Jungles by Terrence McKenna.
To prepare the vine the bark is removed, pounded or pulverized and is boiled down for many hours (with the Psychotria leaves) into a black syrup. A traditional mixture is about 1′ of ½” thick pieces per person per approximately 40 leaves of Psychotria viridis.
Yagé is a strong MAO inhibitor that permits certain psychoactive chemicals (most often DMT traditionally from P. viridis) to enter and effect the body’s nervous system. It is said that harmaline, one of the three major chemicals type found in yagé (harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydro-harmine), is capable of increasing the frequency of copulation in males.
AYAHUASCA – WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS, narrator
To grow this plant outside of a tropical rain forest, it is necessary to provide it with high humidity, part 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 and sub-tropical conditions, such as in Puerto Vallarta, it is easy to grow and quickly grows to immense proportions. It can flower after as little as 3 years and I’ve read that it “will flower only after climbing through the canopy to the sun” but this doesn’t appear to be true. It flowers here in Puerto Vallarta in part shade conditions as well as in the full sun. Flowering occurs here in December. We obtain viable seeds from our plants, not a large percentage, but some.
The Man who Drank the Universe [Ayahuasca Documentary]
Ayahuasca has become popular in western countries and sessions are given by “shamans” (and I use this term lightly) for very high prices. Since the real ingredients are almost impossible to obtain, I would guess that commercially available chemicals are used.