Psychotria viridis

Family Rubiaceae (Coffee Family) Forms and Subspecies It is possible for white thorns (domatia) to develop along the central nerve on the underside of some chacruna leaves. South American ayahuasqueros distinguish different forms of the plant on the basis of the number of these thorns. Plants with three thorns per leaf are considered to be particulady potent, medicinal, and well suited for the production of ayahuasca. A form with nine thorns is regarded as the highest quality. Synonyms Psychotria psychotriaefolia (Seem.) Standley may be a synonym (cf. Psychotria spp.). Folk Names Amirucapanga, cahua (Shipibo-Conibo), chacrona, chacruna, chagropanga, chalipanga, hor6va (Campa), kawa (Cashinahua/Sharanahua), oprito (Kofan, "heavenly people))), sami ruca History It is not known when the use of chacruna in Amazonia first began. It is presumably as old as the use of Banisteriopsis caapi and ayahuasca. But it was only in the 1960s that the American ethnobotanist Homer Pinkley (a student of Schultes) first observed and described the psychoactive use of the plant among the Kofan Indians of Colombia, who use it as an ayahuasca additive (Pinkley 1969). Linnaeus, who provided the first botanical description of the genus Psychotria, derived the name of the genus from Psychotrophum (Patrick Browne), a term that had already been circulating in the literature. Unfortunately, he did not provide any reason for this action. It is quite possible that the genus name means that it "influences the psyche)) (cf. Pinkley 1969). Distribution The tropical bush is at home primarily in the undisturbed forests of the Amazon lowlands but has spread from Colombia to Bolivia and into eastern Brazil as a result of extensive cultivation. It is said to occur also north of the Amazon region and into Central America (Pinkley 1969, 535). Today, there are also plantations in Hawaii and northern California. Cultivation The plant is difficult to propagate from seed. The seeds can require sixty days to germinate. Sometimes, only one seed in a hundred will germinate. In contrast, cultivation from cuttings is much easier and more successful. A small branch needs only to be set in the ground and watered thoroughly. Plants can be grown even from a branch piece having only two leaves, and it is possible for individual leaves and leaf pieces to develop into plants. It has been claimed that a young plant once developed from a piece of leaf that was accidentally covered with soil. The plant requires moist, humus-rich soil. It can survive an occasional flooding of its location, as occurs in Amazonia (Pinkley 1969). Appearance The evergreen bush can grow into a small tree with a very woody trunk, but in cultivation it is usually maintained at a height of 2 to 3 meters. It has long, narrow, ovate leaves that are light green to dark green in color and whose upper side is shiny. The flowers have greenish white petals and are attached to long stalks. The red berry fruits contain several small ovate-oval retuse seeds (approximately 4 mm in length). The convex side is streaked with three parallel grooves with irregular edges. Psychotria viridis is easily confused with other Psychotria species. Psychotria psychotriaefolia in particular is very similar in appearance and may in fact be a synonym (see Psychotria spp.).

Psychoactive Material - LeavesPreparation and Dosage The leaves must be collected in the morning and are used both fresh and dried to manufacture ayahuasca and ayahuasca analogs. The dried leaves are coffee brown in color. The leaves also can be used to produce an extract that thickens to a tarlike mass and can be smoked. As little as 1 ml of the juice pressed from the fresh leaves is said to contain some 100 mg of N,NDMT (cf. Russo 1997,6). Ritual Use See ayahuasca. Artifacts See ayahuasca ("Ayahuasca Music-A Discography;' on page 711). Medicinal Use The Machiguenga use juice that has been freshly pressed from the leaves of Psych0 tria viridis or another Psych0 tria species (Psychotria spp.) as eyedrops for treating migraine headaches (Russo 1997, 5). While Psychotria viridis does have a reputation as a medicinal plant, such use has been little studied to date (see also ayahuasca). Constituents The leaves contain 0.1 to 0.61% N,N-DMT along with traces of MMT and MTHC (= 2-methyltetrahydro-~- carboline). The DMT content is typically around 0.3%. Psychotria leaves appear to contain the highest concentrations of DMT in the early morning, which is why they should be collected at that time (Dennis McKenna, pers. comm.). Effects The Kofan Indians say that by mixing Psychotria viridis leaves into their yage (= ayahuasca; cf. Banisteriopsis caapi), they are able to see the oprito, the small "heavenly people" that bear the same name as the plant (Pinkley 1969, 535). When used as an ayahuasca additive, the leaves manifest typical DMT effects (see ayahuasca). Commercial Forms and Regulations The dried leaves are occasionally available from sources specializing in ethnobotanical products. The legal situation with respect to the raw plant material has not been clarified. Literature See also the entries for Psychotria spp., ayahuasca, and ayahuasca analogs. Der Marderosian, Ara H., et al. 1970. The use and hallucinatory principles of a psychoactive beverage of the Cashinahua tribe (Amazonia basin). Drug Dependence 5:7-14. Pinkley, Homer V. 1969. Etymology of Psychotria in view of a new use of the genus. Rhodora 71:535-40. Prance, G. T., and A. E. Prance. 1970. Hallucinations in Amazonia. Garden Journal 20:102-7. Russo, Ethan B. 1992. Headache treatments by native peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon: A preliminary cross-disciplinary assessement. Journal ofEthnopharmacology 36: 192-206. ---. 1997. An investigation of psychedelic plants and compounds for activity in serotonin receptor assays for headache treatment and prophylaxis. MAPS 7 (1): 4-8.