Ayahuasca
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| 1852 |
| Earliest known western record of the psychoactive effects of ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) in the Brazilian Amazon.
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| English ethnobotanist Richard Spruce describes the use of the ayahuasca vine, which he names Banisteria caapi, by the Tukanoan Indian tribes in Brazil and Colombia. He observes a caapi ritual and imbibes a small amount of ayahuasca tea. Spruce wrote: "This is all I have seen and learnt of caapi or ayahuasca.... Some traveller who may follow my steps with greater resources at his command will, it is hoped, be able to bring away materials adequate for the complete analysis of this curious plant" (Spruce 1908, 1873). |
| References Spruce, R. In: Wallace, AR (Ed.) Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and Andes. London: Macmillan. 1908; and: Spruce, R. "Ocean Highways". Geographical Review n.s. No. 55(Aug):184. 1873. As cited in Schultes, RE. "The beta-Carboline Hallucinogens of South America" Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 14(3):205-220. 1982. |
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