View source for Polypody

<div>The Spanish botanist Hipolito RUlz (1754-1816),</div>
<div>who traveled through South America in the</div>
<div>eighteenth century, provided the first descriptions</div>
<div>of many plants and returned with extensive</div>
<div>collections of botanical materials. In his Relaci6n,</div>
<div>he reported a number of experiences and provided</div>
<div>ethnobotanical notes from Peru and Chile</div>
<div>(Schultes 1980, 89*). RUlz described a polypody</div>
<div>known as cucacuca, incapcocam, or coca del Inca</div>
<div>under the binomial Polypodium incapcocam</div>
<div>(nomen nudum), whose botanical identity even</div>
<div>Richard E. Schultes was unable to determine. RUlz</div>
<div>noted that the Indians had informed him that the</div>
<div>Incas used the leaves of this plant instead of coca</div>
<div>(see Erythroxylum coca). Moreover, the powdered</div>
<div>plant was said to be used (how?) in place of</div>
<div>tobacco (Nicotiana spp.) in order to "clear the</div>
<div>head" (Schultes 1980,89*).</div>
<div>Whether Polypodium does indeed have psychoactive</div>
<div>effects remains to be seen, although it is</div>
<div>possible. Interestingly, the root of one species of</div>
<div>the genus Polypodium whose identity has not been</div>
<div>specified is ingested orally together with the seeds</div>
<div>of Anadenanthera colubrina. It may contain</div>
<div>MAO-inhibiting J3-carbolines (or other substances</div>
<div>with the same effects). The root of the</div>
<div>common polypody (Polypodium vulgare 1.), also</div>
<div>known as sweet angel, contains small amounts of</div>
<div>an essential oil, tannin, bitter principles, and</div>
<div>sweet-tasting saponins (Pahlow 1993, 119*).</div>
<div>It is quite possible that there are other</div>
<div>psychoactive ferns; even German folklore contains</div>
<div>tales of filices, "ferns" (e.g., the worm fern, Aspidium</div>
<div>filix-mas)-also called irrwurz ("confused</div>
<div>root")-that have magical powers, make the devil</div>
<div>appear, and can make one invisible (Marzell 1964,</div>
<div>33f£.*; Schopf 1986, 84f.*). There are also ferns</div>
<div>that were added to beer. In Mexico, a fern known as itamo reaP36 (Pellaea cordata J. Sm.) is said to</div>
<div>have inebriating effects (Diaz 1979,93*).</div>