Haupa

It has recently been discovered that the Ecuadoran Quecha use a tree that they call anya huapa, huachig caspi, huapa, llauta caspi, or machin cara yura ("monkey bark tree") as a hallucinogen. It is possible that this tree was already in use for this purpose in pre-Columbian times, for the informants explained that their ancestors used this plant to communicate with phantoms and spirits. The red sap from the trunk, which is ingested orally, must be boiled before use and is sometimes mixed with guando (Brugmansia spp.) and tzicta (Tabernaemontana sananho Ruiz et Pav.; see Tabernaemontana spp.). The Quechua drip some of the red sap into the nostrils of their dogs so that they are better able to hunt. A chemical quick test (Dragendorff test) has confirmed the presence of alkaloids (Bennett and Alarcon 1994). The Maku Indians drink the sap of the tree, which they call tugnebanpe, to treat colds (Prance 1972a, 20*). In the region around Manaus, the leaves are smoked as a treatment for asthma (Schultes 1978b, 230*; 1983b,347*).

Literature Bennett, B. C., and Rocio Alarcon. 1994. Osteophloeum platyspermum and Virola duckei (Myristicaceae): Newly reported as hallucinogens from Amazonian Ecuador. Economic Botany 48 (2): 152-58.