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Useful Tropical Plants

Banisteriopsis caapi

(Spruce ex Griseb.) C.V.Morton

Malpighiaceae

+ Synonyms

Banisteria caapi Spruce ex Griseb.

Banisteriopsis inebrians C.V.Morton

Banisteriopsis quitensis (Nied.) C.V.Morton

Common Name: Yage

Banisteriopsis caapi
Base of the plant, climbing up a support
Photograph by: Utilidade Pública
Public domain
Banisteriopsis caapi Banisteriopsis caapi Banisteriopsis caapi Banisteriopsis caapi

General Information

Yage is a large climbing shrub, producing woody stems up to 30 metres long and twining itself round other plants for support.
The plant is often harvested from the wild for local use as a medicinal plant. Besides the exploitation of wild plants, the species is also often cultivated in South America by various indigenous tribes, though cultivated plants are said to be less potent[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
,
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
]. With a growing interest in many countries to use this plant as an hallucinogen, it is now traded internationally on a small scale.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

Northern and western S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia. Ecuador, Venezuela.

Habitat

Rainforest[
254
Title
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
Chevallier. A.
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley. London
Year
1996
ISBN
9-780751-303148
Description
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *  *  *
HabitClimber
Height30.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations from around sea level up to 1,000 metres.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark, leaves and twigs are the source of a beverage that is hallucinogenic[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. Commonly used in the Amazonian rainforest, it is used shamanically as a tool to contact the spirits and bring healing, and is also used recreationally[
254
Title
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
Chevallier. A.
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley. London
Year
1996
ISBN
9-780751-303148
Description
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
,
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
,
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
The shoots, roots and leaves, sometimes as an admixture with other species, are used by Indians for the preparation of a hallucinogenic beverage, used for special ceremonies or the roots and stems are chewed for this purpose[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. The dried leaves are also smoked[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].
In addition to its use as an hallucinogenic, the plant is also emetic and purgative[
254
Title
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
Chevallier. A.
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley. London
Year
1996
ISBN
9-780751-303148
Description
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
]. At low doses it is used as a mild detoxifier[
254
Title
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
Chevallier. A.
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley. London
Year
1996
ISBN
9-780751-303148
Description
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
].
The plant contains an alkaloid, known variously as 'telepathin', yagein' or 'banisterine', which has a strongly stimulatory action on the nervous system[
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
The bark contains beta-carboline alkaloids, including harmine, harmaline and delta-tetrahycroharmine[
254
Title
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
Chevallier. A.
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley. London
Year
1996
ISBN
9-780751-303148
Description
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
]. These alkaloids stimulate hallucinations[
254
Title
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
Chevallier. A.
Publisher
Dorling Kindersley. London
Year
1996
ISBN
9-780751-303148
Description
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Banisteriopsis+caapi>

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