BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS HARVARD UNIVERSITY PUBLISHED AT THE BOTANICAL MUSEUM CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS HARVARD UNIVERSITY VOLUME XxIX BOTANICAL MUSEUM CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 1983 No. No. No. No. DATES OF PUBLICATION — VOLUME 29 Ca a ee ee Pe Ce Pore ve Sr ee Se SSeS April 29, 1983 November 9, 1983 December 28, 1983 May 1984 TABLE OF CONTENTS NuMBER I: Winter 1983 (April 29, 1983) Ethnobotanical Notes on Stevia by Djaja D. Soejarto, Cesar M. Compadre and A. Douglas a is eo oe soo oe a ee ee heey seer as I Pareira Brava: 19th Century Notes and Commercial Samples from E.R. Squibb, M.D. rR IY xeanwes aw cadetess 4 toeeeeneese ter De Plantis Toxicariis e Mundo Novo Tropicale Commentations XXX by Richard Evans Schultes «6c. s - yn NO WwW w& fe] NUMBER OF PLANTS ow ie) LEI 11 HUN a : . ants 7 oe ar s ; —~— si Meee CL a UGA CS <— west aS GRA. 1975 small and inconspicuous life forms within the vegetation com- plex. Close observation of the understory reveals a number of different cacti. Peyote grows in association with a variety of plants; instead of seeking a particular indicator plant, Peyoteros look for a combination of landscape features in their search: caliche and stony-gravel slopes of small hills and escarpments, non-sandy soils, and a physiognomic life-form combination of shrubs and understory cacti are (Tassajillo and Pitaya cacti) often associated with Peyote. Some Peyoteros have idiosyncratic means of hunting Peyote. One Peyotero claims that she is able to detect the plant through smell, a smell similar to the odor of “strong nicotine” (Lopez, 1974). Another Peyotero said that he has insomnia from the fumes of the plants which he cuts; at night, with his eyes closed, he visualizes the location of plants which he finds the following day (Davila, 1973). Indians consume the first plant encountered on the hunt; they believe they will then be able to find easily all the Peyote for their needs. Peyote leaders search for a particular Peyote plant having twelve or thirteen segments. This special 77 8L TOPOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF SOUTH TEXAS a= Commercial Peyote Area Oo a RIO GRANO) \ a. 0 20 30 40 \ _ ) J SCALE IN MILES aa \R y ( AFTER A.C. TROWBRIDE, 1932 ) G. mM. 1975 z hn, o. " ad) = Zi ky SD : — no, OAS « — a Ae co) ow ee, eC rf ' + HEBBRONVILLE AGUILARES LE Reanvine tawssreve Aa lon = - 2 PLAIN = © Sa CAvene_, cal 5 es ce Bl er rane a Bee ac ie eae z ROO SANMQS — Ai = a. TY ie 4 a = YY e 7 a : > eg eee gnaw SK Vane —_, ca Sos 4 7 a = - Wy. yoy & ZZ HNN ence ae ww TABLE HILLS AAAS 1p ptt t it OWN ORM 1975 plant, sometimes referred to as “Father” or “Grandfather Peyote,” becomes the highly revered “Peyote Chief,” which is placed on the ceremonial moon altar as the visible intermediary Peyote between God and man. A species of spineless cactus sometimes confused with Peyote is the “Star cactus” (Echinocactus asterias), an extremely rare plant in Texas, known to occur only in Starr County, bordering Mexico, where the plant is more common. Indians and Peyoteros harvest the “Star cactus,” which they call “Star Peyote,” as an ornamental; the plant’s association with Peyote in a symbolic religious sense has resulted in this rare species to be almost close to extinction. One Peyotero, who sells “Star Peyote” as an orna- mental to Indians, also had a potted “False Peyote” (Ariocarpus fissuratus) for sale. Navaho Peyotists are said to harvest two fe, plants for reasons other than specifically ceremonial: the root- bark of Guayacan for shampoo, and Drago (Jatropha dioica) sap for a dark red eye (Cardenas, 1974). Indian pilgrims also seek religious mementos of stone, soil, and plant useful in their reli- gious ceremony. A multitude of various colored stones are scat- tered across the landscape like jewelry. Marble-sized stones are used for bosses on the ceremonial drum; fragments of quartz are collected for musical gourds. Soil is taken home and shaped intoa crescent altar. Though Peyote rarely occurs in red sandy soils (“Goliad sands”), a Peyvorero noted that Cheyenne and Coman- che Indians from Oklahoma obtained the red sand for their altar (Cardenas, 1974). Wood of the Retama tree (Parkinsonia acu- leata) has been sought for ceremonial drum sticks. The shrub micro-habitat appears an opportune seed bed and protective environment during the early stages of Peyote’s life cycle. Under the shrub canopy few other plants grow; shade and reduced wind movement reduce evaporation. The accumulation of soil and leaf litter under shrubs are favorable habitats for seed germination; many juvenile Peyote plants germinate within moist leaf duff. Peyote is much less abundant in more exposed habitats; on pathways between the shrub matrix the plant is trampled by deer and cattle, yet smaller plants embedded within pebbles escape trampling. The thornbrush vegetation was formerly more restricted in areal extent. About 100 to 150 years ago, acacias and other thorny shrubs were largely confined to rocky, broken uplands, whereas deeper soils of level terrain supported a grassland to savanna vegetation type (Correll, 1970). Spanish settlement since the mid- eighteenth century altered the vegetation by overgrazing and frequent fires. The grazing of cattle, sheep, and goats, reduced the grass cover, and thus the combustible material; frequent fires also reduced the supply of fuel for future fires and encouraged the encroachment of brush (Cook, 1908). Carl O. Sauer suggested that the use of fire by Indians created a “cactus savanna” which increased the nopal, valued by Indians for its edible fruits (tuna), (Sauer, 1971). Juvenile Peyote plants are normally unicephalous, but age and injury cause them to become polycephalous (Schultes, 1938). 80 Animals, especially cattle, injure the plants mainly by trampling. Apparently, no animal species depends on the Peyote plant as a major part of its diet. Peyoteros have noticed a variety of animals, such as rattlesnakes, javelinas, rats, mice, wild dogs,and Mexican eagles, eating limited amounts of the plant. Indians and Peyoteros harvesting Peyote injure the plant by cutting and removing its chlorophyllous crown, thus intention- ally stimulating its vegetative growth. The practice of cutting only plant tops and the foreknowledge that asexual clonal growth would result may be an ancient practice. A Cree Indian from Montana stated that for every plant he cuts “five more will grow back” (Denny, 1974). One Peyotero indicated that the growth of Peyote averages two inches in diameter within six months (Lau- rel, 1974). Peyoteros indicated that proper cutting—cutting only the larger plants, infrequent harvests, and rain—bring an abun- dance of growth. Measurements every six months for a period o; two years indicated a substantial growth three times greater among cut plants than among uncut ones. Cut plants producec additional crowns at the end of each six-month period whereas uncut plants produced none. Peyoteros refer to clonal clumps of Peyote as planchas (Spanish, plates). Until the 1940s, south Texas had many planchas, but today they are rare. Instead, planchitas (small planchas) are occasionally found. Harvesting accounts for the absence of planchas in south Texas today. Harvesting alters the life form of Peyote plants; previously cut plants develop a thick, fibrous outer-layer at the root top. This fibrous, wood-like layer develops most where the plant had for- merly been cut, and thus it may be a kind of scar tissue. Thicker layers of root fiber indicate more than one previous harvest. Peyoteros recognize this, since more effort is required to cut through the plant’s fibrous layers. Furthermore, owing to pre- vious cuts, sometimes new plant-crowns assume bizarre shapes. In many areas of south Texas, the density of Peyote has decreased substantially within recent decades. One rancher from southern Starr County indicated that, in 1945, there were so many planchas on his land that it was like “walking ona mattress” (Mufioz, 1975). Today, although there is a considerable amount 81 of the plant on his land, it is little compared to the plant’s former abundance. One Peyotero indicated that in 1972, he and five other workers harvested in Starr County about 19,000 Peyote plants in eight hours’ time; in early June, 1975, they harvested only 200-300 from the same areas in the same amount of time (Olivarez, 1975). Although Peyoteros and Indians agree that there is a decrease in Peyote abundance in areas available for harvesting, estimates vary considerably. Variations in appraisals are due to a number of factors. First, Peyote is a small plant ina big country. Small areas abundant in the plant, especially in thick brush country and some distance from access roads, likely escape notice. One such small area (approximately 200 square meters) was found in January, 1975, in northeastern Zapata County. From appearances, it is likely that it had never before been harvested. Within six months (January-June), over 10,000 Peyote plants had been harvested by a Peyotero who indicated that there was still more plants there (Lopez, 1975). Second, there is secrecy about the locations of areas abundant in Peyote. Third, estimates are based on visible plants, and thus are often inaccurate. Many areas alive with subterranean Peyote appear void of the plant, such as after a recent harvest or drought. Yet, in time, the perennial subterranean roots bud and produce more crowns under favorable environmental conditions, especially rain, so that areas appearing devoid of the plant may be viewed abun- dantly at a later time. A Range Conservationist familiar with Starr County said: “Since the rains, all kinds of Peyote are coming up, hundreds of little ones in areas where I had never seen Peyote” (Willis, 1975). Finally, there is the possibility of new areas of Peyote from seed dispersal, but Indians and Peyoreros often harvest the plant when it flowers from June to September, thus reducing the total seed production of many populations in Texas. By harvesting flower- ing plants, harvesters may have arrested the geographic spread of the plant from seed, thus resulting in a greater dependence and a greater harvesting pressure on existing plants. Indian and Peyo- lero harvesters have become much more dependent on vegetative reproduction from existing populations. 82 The northern edge of the plant’s range has receded southward since the 1930s as a result of harvesting. According to a rancher familiar with the area, the plant was formerly common near Freer, Texas, 42 miles north of its present abundance; harvesting has evidently caused the plant’s rarity in the north (Walker, 1974) Areas not available for harvesting have become more numer:: ous within recent years. Many ranchers have locked their gates. and forbidden any harvesting. Also, some areas have been trans- formed into sorghum fields or improved pastures. The landowner envisages many problems by allowing people on his land: spooked cattle, fire, and the possibility of someone being hurt or even killed in the snake-infested brush (Fulbright, 1974). Locked gates have increased tensions between landowners and harves- ters; trespassing has become a problem. The keys to the few fields where harvesting is allowed are held by Peyoreros, who lease the land. Brush control has been an increasingly common activity in the south Texas landscape since the 1930s. Accelerated within recent years because of Government aid, land is cleared for improved pastures. Brush cleared by “chaining” or “chopping” is said to revert to brush of previous density and height within five to ten years (Davis, 1965). In recent years, the shift toward “root plowing,” followed by re-seeding of native and introduced grasses, has more effectively altered the habitat, and has kept back brush re-invasion fora longer period of time. Peyote is least disturbed by “chopping” since most of the plant lives under- ground. “Chaining” in one direction minimizes damage to the plant, but “chaining” back across the field tends to greatly reduce it from the field (Cavazos, 1974). “Root plowing” is most destruc- tive to Peyote, yet even after an area has been “root plowed,” some underground roots continue to sprout new crowns. The only topographic areas of Peyote escaping the root plow are gravel hills, which are fortunately areas where the plants tend to be concentrated. Gravel hills may eventually be the only areas where the plant will remain concentrated. Within the last five years, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service in Texas refused to cost share with the rancher in brush removal of those areas where the Peyote plant occurred; this change in policy was due to the plant being considered an endangered species in Texas by the “Texas Organi- 83 zation of Endangered Species” (TOES). The effectiveness of this new policy would depend upona number of factors, including the care taken by Range Conservationists. The increased frequency of improper harvesting within the last few years by Indians and teenage “cutters” hired by Peyoteros is said by many people concerned with the plant to be a major cause of the plant’s reduction. Improper harvesting would include not only derooting and cutting deep or too shallow, but harvesting flowering and immature plants. Peyoreros in Starr County tradi- tionally sold Peyote by the “sack,” a practice which encouraged deep cutting. Since 1977, the Texas Department of Public Safety (Narcotics Division) required Peyote traders (all of whom must be registered) to specify in an issued sales book the number of plants sold. This regulation officially ended sales by the “sack,” and thus reduced deep cutting and de-rooting of the plant. But sales by the number encouraged cutting immature plants; harvest- ing pressures on fewer areas of harvest have resulted in most of the plants in the field being immature. Most Indians use improper tools for harvesting, especially long shovels, which tend to muti- late the plant. The ideal tool specifically designed for Peyote cutting, the one traditionally used by Peyoteros, is a “cutter,” which is like a sharp, straight-edged hoe with a handle approximately two feet long. Requiring only slight pressure on the handle of this remarkable tool, severed crowns can be retrieved with ease from the dense thorn brush. There has been a large increase in the number of Indians coming to Texas since 1968; most have been from the Navaho tribe. Although some Navaho used the plant in the 1930s, by the late 1960s the Navaho became the major consumers of Peyote in North America. Larry Etsity, Vice-President of the Native Amer- ican Church of Navaholand, estimated that, as of 1975, there were about 70,000 Navaho following the “Peyote Way” (Etsity, 1975); that is well over half the Navaho using the plant. Peyote sales of 1972-73 indicate that the Navaho of Arizona alone (many Navaho live in New Mexico and California) purchased over a third (38 per cent) of the total recorded sales that year. The following year (1973-74), the Navaho purchased over half (53 per cent) the Peyote recorded sold. Records of 1973-74 indicated that 84 the total Navaho nation purchased four of every five plants sold. The large and sudden increase in Peyote consumers, and con- comitantly fewer areas available to harvest, have accelerated the price of the plant sold by Peyoreros. In 1966, Indians paid $15:00 per 1,000 dry plants (the dried crowns known as “Peyote buttons” in the trade); by 1983 the price has increased to $80.00 per 1,000 dried crowns. Peyoteros indicate that the price increases are due to higher operating costs, such as gasoline prices, and higher lease payments. Delays and shortages of mail-order dry Peyote has perhaps been a greater problem to Indians than price increases; a major reason for the unavailability of dry Peyote is that wealthier Indians and better organized groups buy large amounts (“loads”’) of green Peyote in Texas (green Peyote costs $10.00 less per 1 000 plants); much of the harvest is bought almost as soon as it is cut. In sum, the biogeography of Peyote in south Texas has been greatly altered due to man, namely the removal of brush for land-use change, and the shrinking of the plant’s range and di- minution of its density due to harvesting pressures from reduced acreages and increased consumer demand. Basically, those areas of Peyote most likely to escape damage and loss are areas least accessible to harvesters and too poor to warrant brush clearance. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, Edward F. 1969. “The Biogeography, Ecology, and Taxonomy of Lophophora (Cactaceae).” Brittonia 21 (October-December) 1969: 299-310. Cardenas, Amada. Mirando City, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974. Cavazos, Juan. Laredo, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974. Cook, O. F. 1908. Change of Vegetation of the South Texas Prairies. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry Circular 14, Govern- ment Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (1908): 1-16. Clover, Elzada U. 1937. “Vegetational Survey of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas.” Madrono, 4 (1937): 41-100. Correll, Donovan Stewart and Marshall Conring Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas, Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas, 1970. Davila, Jesus. Oilton, Texas. Interview with Morgan, 1973-74. Davis, R. B.,and R. L. Spicer. 1965. Status of the Practice of Brush Control in the Rio Grande Plains. Bulletin 46, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, Texas, 1965. Denny, Louie. Mirando City, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974. Dice, Lee R. 1943. The Biotic Provinces of North America, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1943. 85 Etsity, Larry. Mirando City, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1975. Fulbright, Bob. Mirando City, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974. Laurel, Geofredo. Oilton, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974. Lopez, Isabel. Oilton, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974-75. Munoz, Julio. Roma, Texas. Interview with Morgan, 1975. Olivarez, Rogerio. Rio Grande City, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1975. Sauer, Carl Ortwin. 1971. Sixteenth Century North America, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 1971. Schultes, Richard Evans. 1938. “The Appeal of Peyote (Lophophora Wil- liamsii) as a Medicine.” American Anthropologist, 40 (1938): 698-715. Trowbridge, A. C. 1959. Tertiary and Quaternary Geology of the Lower Rio Grande Region. U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 837, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1959. Walker, Jim. Laredo, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1974. Willis, George. Rio Grande City, Texas. Interview with Morgan. 1975. 86 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 2 SPRING 1983 THE ETHNOBOTANY OF THE DRESDEN CODEX WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE NARCOTIC NYMPHAEA AMPLA WILLIAM A. EMBODEN, PH.D., F.L.S.* ABSTRACT An analysis of the glyphs and pictorial evidence in the Dresden Codex of the Maya provides an insight into the diversity of plants employed by these ancient people. While maize is the preeminent plant, being the essential food of the Maya, this codex reveals a host of plants of medicinal value. There is a disproportionately large representation of narcotic plants, if one assumes that inclusion 1s based merely upon nutritive, decorative or emblematic value. The white water lily of that region, Nymphaea ampla DC., is especially frequent in depictions. This inclusion is attributed to its narcotic properties (aporphine and quinolizidine alkaloids). The presenta- tion of this codex by Thompson (1972) has served as a working model with respect to organization and visual sources. Interpreta- tions herein are not necessarily in accord with those of Thompson. Three authentic Maya Codices survive to this day: the Dresden, the Madrid, and the Paris, each name being indicative of the city in which they are to be found. In addition to these codices, we have the Grolier Codex of unknown provenance first seen pub- licly in 1971 and preserved in a private collection in New York. Several scholars had expressed serious doubts concerning the authenticity of the Grolier Codex based upon pictorial-ritual aspects of the document as well as its physical properties, but a radiocarbon analysis has produced a date of 1230 with a latitude of 130 years’ error. , The Dresden Codex is of a ritualistic, divinatory and calendric nature. The astronomy of Venus, while accurate, was used as a means of predicting the fate of mankind. The glyphs and illustra- tions are figured on a screen of continuing folded leaves, each about 22 cm high and I|1 cm wide; the whole manuscript is 6.70 *Professor of Biology, California State University, Northridge; Research Fellow, Botani- cal Museum, Harvard University. 87 meters long. The paper was made by pounding the fiber from the inner bark (the bast) of Ficus continifolia HBK., native to Yuca- tan, which is probably 7/ilamatl, or black fig. The glyphs and illustrations were executed only after the fiber had been moulded into a paper and both surfaces sized with lime. All surviving manuscripts mentioned are on this sized Ficus paper. In 1520, Peter Martyr wrote of the process by which the codices were executed using the inner bark of a plant which he believed that they called philyra; conjoined leaves were accomplished with fibers and what Martyr asserted to be bitumen. Diego de Landa, in 1579 (fide Perez Martinez), asserted that some of the nobles were acquainted with the fields of knowledge found in these codices, but that they did not display this knowledge. Likewise, Antonio de Ciudad Real stated in 1873 that “only the priests of the idols, called ah kins in that language, and an occasional noble understood these figures and letters. Afterwards, some of our friars understood them, knew how to read them, and even wrote them.” In all of these books, it would seem that prophecy and history were integrally bound together, the reason being found in the belief that each Karun, or twenty years of 360 days each, would recapitulate a previous ka‘un that ended in the same number. Prophecies for a given tun, or 360 day year, would begin at the onset of that year and would relate to a previous sequence. Such sequences would necessarily include disease and pestilence and the shamanic cure by power. There is no evidence for the record- ing of mundane affairs in such important codices. Ritual and history were repeated in poetic forms that probably constituted litanies or musical chants and incantations. The Maya probably believed, as the Mixtecas, that their ancestry originated in the roots of the ceiba tree, Ceiba acumi- nata(S. Wats.) Rose the seeds of which are enmeshed in a white cottony fiber that is in the sky like clouds. Families were seen as fruits on such a tree, according to Ximénez (1929-1931). Similar belief systems are to be found throughout the world, a notable example being that of the Eboka of equatorial Africa who venerate Tabernanthe Iboga Baill., a plant containing the spirits of the deceased and from which all of their people originated (Fernandez in Furst [ed.] 1972). 88 The tree Theobroma Cacao L. among the Maya was called caca and was usually indicated by the visual presentation of the prolate fruits of the plant. The seeds of this plant were highly valued and served the Maya as a currency. When made into a beverage, after being ground into a powder, theobromine in the seed was released and served as a mild stimulant. The beverage was undoubtedly bitter, as the innovation of adding sugar came much later, after the ancient Maya civilization had collapsed. Apart from this brief commentary on two trees of some con- sequence with respect to Maya ancestry and currency, it would be desirable to peruse the entire Codex using the system estab- lished by Férstemann in his 1892 edition of the Dresden Codex as it has been used by scholars ever since the appearance of this edition, even though subsequent commentaries and editions have appeared. For those students of Maya scholarship wishing to locate a particular series of glyphs, the Foérstemann system divides each page into three vertical sections (rarely four) that are conspicuous in the original manuscript, and these are let- tered from top to bottom as a, b, c and rarely d. Where these ols are absent, the pages contain vertical columns; the width of each of these is lettered from left to right in alphabetical sequence. Captions for units of pages such as “almanac” or “lunar table”, etc., have been retained, and each r’o/ is numbered sequentially under such a caption. For example, “Almanac 6” has only two t o/s, numbered TI and T2. In this commentary, | shall omit any ¢ o/s that do not contain glyphs or images that relate to plants. It should be noted that the first two Almanacs of the Dresden Codex are in such poor condition that commentary cannot be made on such motifs or glyphs, if indeed they may have existed. Gl is used for glyph. Where lunar tables interrupt the sequence of Almanacs, they have been integrated into the sequence. MISCELLANEOUS ALMANACS Almanac 3 (p. 2a) T2. Seated maize god with his glyph above Gl. |. abundance of maize Gl. 4. maize god 89 Almanac 5 (p. 2c) 7S, Maize god inserts needle with thread into frame Gl. 4. abundance of maize Almanac 6 (p. 2d) rue T2. Seated moon goddess. Her outstretched hand holds what appears to be a stylized water lily (note the petio- late glyph opposite the flower). This is ritual divination (Thompson, 1972). I do not concur with Thompson’s suggestion that this is the working of tortoise shell. The flower-like motif (Rands, 1953) suggests the water lily, Nymphaea ampla DC., that was used as a narcotic in ritual divination (Emboden, 1979). While no botanical motif is suggested here, it is appro- priate to mention that the death god represented is fre- quently associated with the water lily as is the jaguar and an aqueous underworld. The depiction may relate to the prognostication of the moon goddess, Ixchel, in the process of divination. Almanac 7 (p. 3a) TI. The body of a sacrificial victim has become part of a stylized tree that is an amalgamation of botanical mo- tifs. Hybridization of plant motifs was common to the Maya (Emboden, 1979). From the victim’s gaping abdomen there arises a “world directional tree” com- mon to temple reliefs and found in the Codex Borgia (pp. 49-52). In the crotch of the tree is a cormorant; Thompson (1972) believes it to be a vulture, but the figuring of the body and beak suggest a cormorant. This bird is seen in a stylized underwater tree in Coe (1973, polychrome vase 20 and others). Gl. 1. The jaguar paw. This may be associated with the figure that has become known as the jaguar of the water lily, for the flower is often seen on his head as he dominates the underworld. 90 72; The maize god holds a bowl of comestibles. Gl. |. maize Gl. 2. maize god Gl. 3. abundance of maize Commentary: In the bulbous mass that constitutes the part of the tree under the victim’s body, one may trace elaborate roots at the base. Upon these, at either side, are floral elements. That to the right suggests one of the water lily motifs delineated by Rands (1953) and may be a clue to the ritual nature of the sacrifice. Almanac 8 (pp. 4a—10a) Ag? a2 T8. T9: (p. 4a) There is depicted a rare deity found nowhere else in the Dresden Codex. Tozzer and Allen (1910: p. 310) suggested that it was a tree toad. It would appear to be a toad of some sort holding a snake. More impor- tant to this discussion is the water lily emblem on the headdress of the figure. As pointed out by Emboden (1981), this toad-water lily association is probably related to the potential psychotropic properties of bufotenine from the toad and nupharine and aporphine from the water lily. It is part of a divinatory almanac (Thompson, 1973), and thus such an interpretation lends greater meaning. The absence of a botanical motif still requires com- ment. The god 1s here identified as God N. It was this figure that, in the legend of the Hero Twins, was assassi- nated by one of them. He is often seen in his shell which usually has a water lily attached to the back of it (Coe, 1973, image 70). This figure reinforces the assertions made in T1 (above). Gl. 6. abundance of maize A death god wearing a pendant water lily in his com- plex head dress. The presence of the water lily (Nym- phaea ampla) may be used in the emblematic sense of power. 9] T14. TIS. T18. TI9. (p. 8a) The jaguar water lily is depicted with the flower emerging from the fore part of his head. This is the only occasion that Thompson found in his 1975 analysis of the Dresden Codex to identify the water lily. The figuring is no clearer than in other portrayals, so we must conclude that the iconography was deciphered by way of the jaguar association. In this connection, the reader is referred to the stimulating presentation by Coe (1973). Gl. 5. abundance of maize (p. 8c) The figure depicted to the left in this represen- tation bears a reflexed water lily on his head dress. The significance is not apparent to me, nor has it been dis- cussed by those who have worked on the Codex. The maize god is depicted and glyphs 3 and 4, respec- tively deal with the maize god and the abundance of maize. (p. 10a) Barthel (1955) indicated that the affixes stand for a magical phrase “che yetel tunich.” Yetel was one of several forms of tobacco used by the Maya (Roys, 1933: footnote p. 99). For an extended account of the use of narcotic tobaccos in ritual intoxication among the Maya see the account of Furst (1976). The asso- ciated glyphs translated by Thompson (1966) as “afflic- tion of strife’ would seem to bear upon this ritual intoxicant that was smoked, drunk, and possibly intro- duced as part of an enema (Furst, 1976). Almanac 9 (pp. 10a—12a) Divinatory be. Ta, (p. lla) The Muan bird wears a maize headdress. (p. 12a) The maize god holds a vessel containing pods of Theobroma Cacao. These are identified in Gl. 1. Gl. 2. Maize god Gl. 3. Abundance of maize Almanac 10 (p. 12a) The almanac is designed to serve twice over; see Almanac 9 and Almanac I 1. 92 i gts (p. 12a) God K holds a dish of cacao seeds identified as such by glyph one. Almanac 11 (p. 13a) Divinatory TI. ws (p. 13a) The God Chac (God B of Zimmermann, 1956) holds a bowl of Theobroma cacao and the seeds. The head dress bears three flowers that I identify as Nymphaea ampla emerging from two cup-like struc- tures bearing cross hatching. The latter are common representations of the leaves of Nymphaea. This flower is particularly suited to Chac for reason of his identifi- cation with all watery elements. (p. 13a) Death god holds a bowl of cacao fruits with one seeds visible. The seeds of the plant Theobroma Cacao were used sacrifically by sprinkling them with blood. When Sahagun (1956) described the cacao plant in the Florentine Codex he refered to the green fruit stating: “When much is consumed, especially if it 1s green ... it makes the heart of people evil (Book 11, p. 119). We would have trouble ascribing this behavior to the xanthine alkaloids in the seeds, but it is possible that the fruit was fermented into an inebriating bever- age that may have been further fortified. The frontal head dress of this figure is a bilabiate flower suggesting Salvia divinorum Epl. and Jat., a hallucinogenic mem- ber of the mint family cultivated in riparian habitats to-day by the Mazatecs and possibly corresponding to pipilzinzintli of the ancient Nahuas. One may argue that this is not the present distribution of the plant, but the same may be said of peyote, tobacco and a host of other sacred plants. This suggestion is only tentative, but the bilabiate flower in a conspicuous calyx on this death figure argues strongly for such an interpretation. Likewise, the water lily, Nymphaea ampla on the back side of the head dress reinforces the contention that we are dealing with a multiplicity of narcotic plant ele- ments associated with a single figure in a divinatory almanac. 93 Almanac 12 (pp. 14a—15a) Tl. (p. 14a) The Maize god with a maize head dress points a finger. Almanac 13 (p. 15a) See Almanac 23 for similar motifs. T1 God D dives earthwards as though in water. From one foot there emerge two cacao pods and two more are attached to an elbow. Thompson (1972) associates this figure with the diving bee god. It is worthy of note that from his back a peduncle and bud of the hallucinogenic Nymphaea ampla ascends. Thompson takes this to be Theobroma Cacao again, but it is unlikely, as cacao has no peduncle but is sessile and attached to the branches of the cacao tree. It is consistently portrayed in this manner. T2. A diving death god has cordate leaved vegetation replacing his right foot suggesting the leaves of both Turbina corymbosa (L.) Raf. and Ipomoea violacea L. Both plants bear seeds containing amides of lysergic acid and are hallucinogenic. The relationship of this to the creation story is recapitulated in Almanac 23 as it is presented here. The diving god and Nymphaea will appear in a later paper. Almanac 15 (pp. 5b-6b) ~Divinatory TI. According to Thompson (1972) the presentation is of the chacah or gumbolimbo tree (Bursera Simaruba L.) which is being drilled to produce fire. T2. Death god with the same drill and wood. T3. God D with the same fire drill and wood. T4. God Q with the same fire drill and wood. Almanac 18 (p. 9b) Divinatory Tl. The maize god squats before God D. Emerging from before the forehead of the God D is a pedicellate water lily. Gl. 5. The maize god. Gl. |. Abundance of maize. 94 Almanac 19 (p. 10b) Divination involving Theobroma fed: e2 A Chac is seated holding a pot of Theobroma Cacuo seeds. Gl. 2. Cacao (p. 10c) God Q, associated with war and sacrifices holds a bowl of Theobroma Cacao fruit and seed prob- ably indicating the blood sacrifice to be made over the seeds. Almanac 20 (pp. 10b-11b) Divinatory fia 72, ¥3, T4. 15; Glyphs indicate the giving of cacao beans. There is ro accompanying picture. The sun god holds a vessel of cacao seed; this may also be seen in Almanacs 10 and 19. Glyphs again indicate the giving of cacao beans. The Maize god is seen with the same vessel of cacao beans and a double head dress of Nymphaea ampla. The fish in the head dress and the fish touching upcn the frontal water lily suggest aqueous elements and the murals at Bonompak. Glyphs read “he gives cacao beans; 2 “abundance of maize; 3 maize god.” Glyphs repeat the giving of cacao beans. This has now started to form a kind of litany by way of repetition. The repetition of giving cacao beans. The frequency of this should be no more curious to us than the Ayrie eleison repeated in western masses. Almanac 21 (p. 12b) Divinatory ee 2 (p. 12b) A female death goddess with black spo‘s wears a water lily to the front and rear of her head dress with a rhizome-like appendage between the flow- ers (note root-like extensions on the rhizome). Goddess H wears a nose rod that terminates in a flower that is unidentified. It should be pointed out that tke size of a flower as it is portrayed in any codex has litt e to do with its actual size but relates to its importance in what is being portrayed. The relationship to one of the 95 sensory modes suggests that perhaps the flower is of ritual significance. Almanac 22 (pp. 13b-14b) Divinatory rh, T2. T3. T4. i bs T6. (p. 13b) A squatting death god with the body of an insect hold a maize glyph in his left hand. The frontal floral motif is that seen in Almanac 10 (T2, 13a) and identified as the hallucinogenic labiate Salvia divino- rum. It should be noted that the insects that feed on these psychotropic plants carry the chemicals in their bodies. For this reason some beetles and their larvae have been used to induce altered states of conscious- ness. Gl. 2. Sprouting maize Maize god with maize headdress and maize glyph in his right hand sits with his legs crossed. He wears the maize head dress and in the beak of the bird as two cacao pods. Gl. |. & 2. He takes care of new maize Gl. 3. Maize god God C is seated with a maize glyph in his right hand. In his headdress, slanting backward, is the water lily with quetzal feathers inserted in it. Gl. 1.&2. Are repeats of T2 A seated Bacab holds the maize glyph in his right hand. Gl. 2. Ripening maize Seated God Q with maize glyph in his left hand. Gl. 1.&2. Are repeats of T4 Seated God D with a maize glyph in his right hand. Thompson (1972) interprets the complex head dress as that of a centipede. I would suggest that it is a rhizome- like extension terminating in a flower in front. The back of the head dress is a giant water lily with quetzal feathers inserted. Gl. 1.&2. Repeat T4 Gl. 4. Phonetic equivalent of maize ripening 96 Almanac 23 (pp. 15b-16b) Divinatory TI. des ‘ES, A complicated presentation of the god Chac diving with cacao pods on his left heel. In his left hand is « maize glyph with cacao pods beneath it and a sprouting plant with cordate leaves above. This relates to Al- manac 13 and according to Thompson (1972) may relate to the creation story in Chilam Balam of Chu- mayel in which there are references to the descent of flowers and gods bearing vegetation. The plant motif suggests to Thompson a sprouting tree trunk. I do not see it as such; rather, the leaves and vining aspect sug- gest the sacred Ipomoea violacea (also Turbina corym- bosa) the seeds of which have amides of lysergic acid and were widely used in the area of Mesoamerica for ritual intoxication and resulting divination. Such an explanation is in keeping with the divinatory nature of the codex as well as the morphology of the plant pres- ented. This idea had occured to Thompson (1972), for in Almanac I! (p. 13a) he first believed that the pointed, obovate fruits in the bowl might have been ololiuhqui. He was convinced to the contrary by Caso who pointed out the associated round beans (the seed of ololiuhqui is pointed). Thus my suggestion at this point is not beyond the belief system of Thompson with respect to these people. Gl. |. The glyph /ah suggests bee keeping and/or the diving bee god (questionable). The diving death god repeats T1 and has cacao pods on the left elbow and shoulder. Gl. 1.&2. Repeat of Tl. A youthful goddess with a coiled serpent in her hair sits holding a bowl with stylized flowers emerging from the surface. This is much like some of the portrayals of the balché ceremonial vessels in the Codex Vindobonensis which show, in color, three white flowers on the sur- face. | have suggested (Emboden, 1979) that the flowers 97 are Nymphaea ampla even though they are not in pro- portion to the size of the vessel. We know that balché was a drink fortified with several other plants, and that N. ampla is implicated. This would permit the ritual beverage to transcend the ordinary inebriated state that one might expect from a mere fermented alcoholic bev- erage. The associated glyphs are indecipherable, but Thompson’s suggestion that they are associated with Tl and therefore also with Almanac 13 implies the bee which produces honey. It was honey that was fer- mented to produce the mead-like ba/ché. Honeycombs, hives, and N. ampla are seen together in the Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus. It is suggested by Thomp- son that this is possibly Xcolel (Our Mistress), but she may well be one of the shamanic caste of women who played an important role in Maya shamanic stratifica- tion and were most probably the preparators of balché. The serpent in the hair of Xcolel may be emblematic of the cordate-leaved plant and I have suggested as Ipomoea violacea in T1 and T2. The Aztecs knew the morning glory as coat/-xoxuhqui or “green snake plant,” because of its vining habit. This may imply one more additive to the balché. Glyph 3 indicates white God H who may be a prophet or priest of either sex. There can be little doubt that we are dealing with shamanic div- ination in this picture and the two previous ones. T4. (p. 16b) The God M sits holding a bone as a sort of scepter. From his turban there emerge two flowers. The attendant glyphs in no way clarify the nature or func- tion of these. Almanac 24 (pp. 4c-Sc) Divinatory Commentary: Kinich Ahau, the sun god, and Itzam Na, God D, both figure in this almanac and this has led Thompson (1972) to suggest that the almanac deals with divining the outcome of disease. T3. God H is seated on a dias and has in his head dress a water lily flower on a peduncle. 98 Almanac 25 (pp. 5c-6c) Divinatory cee Tr. V3. T4. (p. 5c) God D is seated and holds a small cup of balché. The usual preparation of this ritual beverage seems to have been fermentation of honey to which had been added the bark of the tree Lonchocarpus yucate- nensis Pitt. (L. longistylus Pitt.). Several other plant additives have been suggested by this author (Emboden, 1979). Gl. 1. abundance of maize A seated death god holds what Thompson (1972) has suggested is a seed bag. I cannot add to this. Gl. |. repeat T1 (p.6c) God C walks carrying before him what appears to be an incense burner. The use of copal in ritual purification was a common practice among the Maya and their successors. While copal may be derived from several plants of that area, the investigations have demonstrated the plant to be /cica Copal Schlecht. & Cham., a small tree of the family Burseraceae. Upon wounding, the plant releases resins that harden and may then be heated to produce clouds of smoke. In the book of Chilam Balam it was called “brains of the sky.” Gl. 1. Repeat of Tl subsequent glyphs portend good God Q walks carrying the copal censer. Another sug- gestion is that it is a bag of maize, but I think this is less likely due to its complex nature and the manner in which it is held. No indication of seeds are evident. Gl. |. Repeat of T1 followed by malevolent indica- tions Almanac 26 (pp. 6c-7c) Divinatory apy V2 A death god is seated and holds a victim’s head. He wears the pendant water lily motif. God D witha yellow face holds two affixes in a circle of dots that Thompson tentatively translates as caca refer- ing to Theobroma cacao, and has a water lily head dress. 99 Gl. 1. Cacao. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. An anthropomorphic Muan bird is seated and has a water lily flower protruding from its forehead. Almanac 27 (p. 8c) Divinatory Commentary: These figures of gods or their impersonators are reminiscent of scenes from the Codex Bologna 12-13 and Codex Fejervary-Mayer 33-34 and suggest prophetic divina- tion appropriate to a chilan. Thompson (1972) believes that the diminutive figures entering the temple are in a hallucina- tory trance and suggests mushrooms (probably Psilocybe species). God D walks into a temple in which is seated God C as a small monkey-like figure who functions as the katun giving prophecy. Note Nymphaea in the head dress. TI. T2. Gl. 1. Gl. 2. Reddening all over. This may be due to the ingestion of some narcotic other than mush- rooms. Such a flush is felt in Datura-intoxica- tion. These glyphs convey the idea of half-dead. This is the trance state appropriate to a chilan dur- ing shamanic exstasis. This condition may have been due to drinking balché fortified with any of several narcotic plants to include Datura, Psilocybe, Lonchocarpus and Nymphaea. The idea of a single plant intoxicant is probably oversimplification. God Q walks into a temple with a kaz, or evil glyph inside. Gl. 1. Reddening all over to once more imply narcot- ics. Painting the face red to imitate the duende, or spirit person is discussed by Thompson. Almanac 28 (p. 9c) ~Divinatory The death goddess, probably Goddess O, is seated and wears a bilabiate flower in front of her head dress (Sal- Fe 100 via divinorum?) and a water lily on the rear of it. Gl. |. abundance of maize Almanac 29 (pp. [0c-I1c) Divinatory T2. T4. TS iG. God D is seen seated wearing over his head dress the pendant water lily motif that Thompson previously indicated as a centipede. Gl. 4. This is interpreted by Thompson as Successor in Office or Lord of Recompense, indicating strong shamanic overtones. The seated maize god wears an unidentified flower on the terminus of his nose rod, or as a substitute for the more usual nose rod. Gl. 2. Maize god Gl. 3. Abundance of maize The seated sun god with a Ain sign on his forearm wears a retrorse water lily in his head dress. God B is seated and makes elaborate gestures with his hands. The association with water is seen in the action glyph of the jade symbol surrounded by dots and the circles forming an arc in the head dress. This is further reinforced by the two water lily-like flowers in the rear of the head dress. Gl. 3. Lord of the jaguar skin cushion; lord of the jaguar stool, may imply the water lily jaguar in this augury. Almanac 30 (p. 12c) Divinatory Th ee God D, the diviner, is seen wearing the head dress of Chac. This establishes the divinatory nature of this almanac associated with the casting of lots. A seated Bacab holds the Ain sign. Gl. 4. Maize god Almanac 31 (pp. 13c-14c) Divinatory 3 The wife of God D is seated holding an animal whose nature is not identifiable and may be a transmogrified 101 animal or supernatural being. The head dress is unus- ual in that the pendant water lily now stands straight out from the headdress and emanates from a water glyph as indicated by the circle of dots. T4. God L is seen seated wearing a head dress that includes a maize sign and a crested bird. Before him is a diminu- tive figure of the moon goddess holding a maize sign. Almanac 32 (p. [5c) Divinatory T2. God D is seated holding the kin, or sun (also priest or diviner) sign. The head dress has a pendant water lily that drops to meet the kin sign. It also emerges from a glyph suggesting water. Thompson indicates that G1. 4 indicates one who divines by the casting of lots. Almanac 33 (p. 16a) Divinatory T2. The Lord of Vegetation who is probably the Moon Goddess in disguise. Gl. 4. Maize god Almanac 34 (pp. 16a~—17a) Tl. God D with a kan-imix sign on his back indicating an abundance of maize or good fortune. Almanac 35 (pp. 18a—19a) Divinatory TS. Since almost all of the text of this almanac has been lost, the five divine goddesses are identified only by conjecture. TS is of interest in that she wears a nose rod that terminates in an unidentifiable flower the base of which is comprised of a circle of dots which are used in water and sun signs. Almanac 37 (pp. 2la-22a) Divinatory T3. No depiction Gl. 3. Abundance of maize 102 Almanac 38 (pp. 22a-23a) Divinatory pee A diving diety of uncertain character holds a maize glyph (he may be the maize god). His turtle head dress suggests aqueous elements as do the numerous Nymphaea- like motifs around the back of this figure. As with pre- vious diving figures, he seems to share in some concept of magnical or divine vegetation. Almanac 40 (pp. 17b-18b) Divinatory, medical 2; This is a very elusive 7’o/ as there is no picture, but Gl. 1 of a monkey head with the down prefix and Gl. 4 suggest shaman, curer and Our Lady.. There may also be a double meaning, not uncommon to this codex, Thompson points out that maax (max) is the name for both the spider monkey, for a variety of eruptions, inflammations and swellings, and for wild chile (Capsi- cum) of which there are several species in the Maya territory. The use of Capsicum fruits in shamanic div- ination is known from this area, and the plant serves effectively to help in healing as it is bacteriocidal and the vitamin C content would have helped to prevent a number of the diseases that are suggested by maax. The argument that there should then be portrayed a wild chile plant does not hold, for maize is most often men- tioned but rarely portrayed except by the abstracted maize glyph. Capsacin is the active constituent in the fruit of the Capsicum plant. Almanac 42 (pp. 19b-20b) Divinatory Ta The seated moon goddess holds a small figure of God H before her. He wears the reflexed Nymphaea on his head and through his nose is a rod terminating in an unidentifiable flower. Almanac 45 (p. 22b) Divinatory TI. The youthful Chac is depicted as wearing the head of a dog and holding in his hand the maize sign. 103 yiKy T4. Goddess | is seated and holds the maize sign. In her hair is a knotted water lily. In the absence of a picture the glyphs indicate the rule of Chac. It is the assertion of Thompson that the signs indicate harm to the crops because even though Chac, the maize and the moon dieties are present, strong sun in the tropics is often harmful to crops. There are how- ever a high proportion of favorable glyphs and augur- ies. This would be decidedly to the advantage of the shaman-priest in accounting for predictions. It allows a margin of error in that it is enigmatic. Almanac 46 (p. 23b) Chants and offerings. ges T3. To: T6. Gl. |. Thompson suggests that the name chai is impli- cated both as a homonymn for obsidian and for Jatropha aconitifolia Mill. This member of the Euphorbiaceae was stripped of its leaves which were then boiled and eaten by the Maya. He also suggests chaya, another Mayan name for the same plant. Leaves had to be gathered at the correct time and then pressed. As many members of the Euphorbiaceae have toxic latex at maturity, this was probably a usual mode of treating the young leaves. Since a food glyph followed by the eating sign occurs in four of the five t’ols this is probably correct. While there is no picture, the glyphs implicate maize and eating. Glyphs only are present, and repeat T2 and add the maize god and his eating. Glyphs from T2 are repeated, as well as adding abun- dance of maize and his eating. Almanac 47 (pp. 16c-17c) Divinatory, medical T6. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. 104 Almanac 49 (pp. 18c-19c) Divinatory TI. TZ A seated goddess has a well figured water lily in the front of her hair. Gl. |. Fainting, or epileptic fits were often considered a divine manifestation under control of the moon goddess (cf. our “lunatic”). A seated goddess wears a fillet of water lily petals and two water lilies, one up and one down, extend from the front of this fillet. Gl. 2. Her divine burden. Gl. 3. Maize god. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. Almanac 50 (pp. 19c-20c) Divinatory Ts T4. fet The seated goddess wears in her hair the “white” glyph with feathers emerging from it. 1 would take this to be Nymphaea ampla, the white water lily, with quetzal feathers inserted. The seated goddess carries the maize god on her back. Gl. |. The maize god. Gl. 2. The divine burden of maize. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. A seated goddess carries a figure identified by Thomp- son (1972) as Sac Uacnal or “bursting forth of new white maize.” (GI. 1.) Almanac 52 (pp. 22c-23c) Divinatory Be? T6. The moon goddess is seated opposite a death god. In his head dress is a complex of a frontal water lily that is a bird as viewed from the back. From above the eye of the bird are two mushroom-like projections. They are not the crest of the bird, and may represent sacred hallucinogenic fungi used in divination. The context of the glyphs suggest misfortune. A kneeling goddess has what Thompson has identified as a “white sign” in her hair. It would appear to be the 105 white water lily in a stylized presentation and turned to the back. Gl. 1. Abundance of maize. Almanac 53 (pp. 29a—30a) i ye T3. T4. A Chac is seated on what Thompson has called “a world directional tree.” Beneath him is a jar with a cab scroll indicating that it holds honey. I would conjecture that this association might imply ba/che' made from fermented jars of honey and utilizing the bark of Lon- chocarpus yucatensis Pitt. and previously mentioned plants. A Chac is seated on what Thompson again identifies as a “world directional tree.” Since the artist has taken the liberty to figure a pinnatifid leaf we might suggest that the plant is Bursera from which copal is derived. This was used in the most sacred Mayan ceremonies. The Chac wears a head dress of reversed water lilies that appear knotted. A Chac is seated on another tree so identified by Thompson as associated with a world direction. It has one flower pointed upwards and another down. The figuring of the flower is much like some of the water lily identifications made by Rands (1953). It may be a hybridized plant motif. The “world tree” portrayed here has protruding thorns on the trunk and is probably, as suggested by Thomp- son, a ceiba tree also known as the pochoté tree, Ceiba aesculifolia (HBK.) Britt. and Baker. Roys (1933) notes that in The Book of Chilam Balam it is stated (p. 91) “It is not bad to gnaw the trunk of the pochote tree.” Commentary: Thompson believes these pictures represent the Chacs seated on “the red tree of the east, the white tree of the north, the black tree of the west, the yellow tree of the south.” He has not implicated chacah which may be a homonym closer than chai for the gods (i.e. Chac rain dieties). Chacah is mentioned in The Book of Chilam Balam as the wood com- prising the first hut of the Canul family in “The Ritual of the 106 Four World Quarters.” In this same work the white tree is uaxim (guaje) and is Leucaena glauca (L.) Benth. used in building. As mentioned previously, chacah is Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg. figuring as copal. Thompson notes that all of these colors are also associated with the ceiba tree, a sign of fertility and abundance. However, it is clear from the pictures in the text that is not the ceiba tree that is figured in each instance. In the ritual of the Bacabs four surrogate plants become direc- tional in the aformentioned ritual: the red Plumeria acutifolia Poir. is east, the white Callisia repens L. (or Commelina ele- gans HBK. is the north, the white flowered “black laurel” Stemmadenia insignis Miers. is the west, and the yellow flo- wered Tecoma stans (L.) HBK. is the south. This is a derived later manuscript, but it reinforces the idea that a single tree need not be used regularly in directional ritual. When the aqueous underworld is represented in the Dresden Codex it would appear that the white water lily is allowed to stand for all four directions. In the ritual of the Bacabs these colors also stood for the hues of the winds and were not to be taken ina literal sense. Almanac 55 (pp. 31a—39a) T2. An unidentified god kneels on the edge of a sort of boat. From the back of his neck a long pedicellate water lily is clearly figured. Opposite him is a Chac who appears to be holding a large water lily. Between them there is a vessel (balché?) with effluvia figured as com- ing from the top. T3. The decapitated head of The Impersonator of Maize is on a three tiered altar. Three dieties play two different drums a rattle and a flute. T4. God C posing as a Chac sits in a temple holding a maize glyph while a true Chac is on the ridge pole of the building. T5. In front of a seated Chac are dishes of maize, a tall insence burner for copal ( Bursera) and a vessel of foam- ing balché. The plant ingredients of ba/lché have been discussed. 107 16, T7. THI. T13. T14. TIS. T16. T17. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. Gl. 2. Maize offering. This is the only known example of God X who has the attributes of the toad and the frog. In this picture, the god is a toad as the paratoid glands that contain bufotenine are depicted quite clearly and bear three black dots. In his head dress are the retrorse white water lilies. These are knotted, as is usually the case with a shamanic portrayal. Chac with a water lily head dress, knotted and reversed, embraces the moon goddess in a act of coition. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. A Chac sits on a jaguar skin dias contemplating a maize sign. In his hair are the appropriate water lilies. A Chac impersonates a dog carrying two torches. His head dress reveals his true identity and includes two vegetative forms. A Chac with a knotted, retrorse water lily head dress walks through the rain carrying a seed pouch. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. Almanac 56 (pp. 40a—41la) Divinatory chant Ta; T4. dF A Chac is seated on a large fish upon the back of which are motifs associated with the fruit of the ceiba tree, Ceiba acuminata (S. Wats.) Rose. Gl. 4. This is down or cotton, probably from the ceiba fruit. Thompson suggests that it is clouds. Chac is seated on a tree and holds one of two branches. One root terminates in a Chac head, suggesting that this is some kind of sacred plant. A Chac with a water lily head dress sits on a tank or pool of water and holds an unidentifiable object. A Chac with a water lily to the front and a knotted water lily to the rear, sits on the head of God D and is 108 clad in a turtle shell mantle. Gl. 3. Abundance of maize. T6. A Chac with a water lily head dress sits inside a small temple or hut. Almanac 57 (pp. 42a—-44a) Chant (not augural). Tl. A Chac sits on a coiled rattlesnake upon the head of which rests a vessel with three maize signs above it. The Chac has a single retrorse water lily in his head dress. Gl. 5. Maize and ? T4. Gl. 5. Maize. TS. Gl. 5 Maize. T7. A Chac with a retrorse water lily head dress holds a fish. T8. A Chac is seated in a small temple and wears the re- trorse water lily head dress. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. Almanac 58a (pp. 30b-31b) i, Gl. 5. Venison and maize. Ts; Gl]. 5. Iguana and maize. Almanac 59 (pp. 31b-35b) Divinatory chant Tl. A Chac with water lilies in front and back of his head dress walks with a torch and seed pouch (?) in imitation of a Bacab. T2. A Chac with elaborate water lilies in his head dress is seen walking. Gl. 4. Theobroma Cacao L. T3. A Chac with torch and axe and frontal water lilies in his head dress. Gl. 6. Maize god. 109 a T8. Gl. 5. Abundance of maize. Gl. 6. Maize seed. The head of God B is attached to the body of a snake which is so devised as to encircle a body of water. In the head dress of God B is the retrorse water lily, and from the four corners of the lake there are protrusions sug- gesting what Rands (1953) identified as the “mammi- form water lily.” I would support this identification and suggest that the water lily in this context takes on the meaning of the directional trees, colors, winds, etc., that are typically Mayan. The association between the water lily and the serpent was pointed out by me (1979), and the serpent may be Hapi Kan. There is a seed pouch in his right hand. The festival is u hanii. Almanac 60 (pp. 35b-37b) Divinatory chant T2. T3. T6. Bi Gl. 4. Glyph of maize god, Uaxac yol kauil A Chac paddles a canoe containing a goddess, who wears a peculiar water lily frontally. Gl. 1. A dessicated maize crop. A Chac walks holding a vegetal form that defies identification. Gl. 2. Abundance of maize. Gl. 4. Wood (che) of chastisement. A Chac, seated on water, grabs an eel or a water snake. He wears the retrorse water lily head dress. Beneath the water a bacab (or perhaps God N) emerges from a conch shell. On the front of his head band is a water lily. Gl. 3. Chastisement over balché. Almanac 61 (pp. 38b-41b) Augural weather almanac Tz, A Chac with the retrorse water lily head dress is sowing seed in the rain. Gl. 3. Abundance of maize. 110 ey. T6. iy: TY. T10. ge A Chac with a planting drill walks with an open hand as though planting seed. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. A Chac with a retrorse water lily head dress is seated in a rain that falls from celestial bands. Gl. 4. Woe to the maize. A Chac dives from a celestial band with an axe in his hand in a manner similar to previously figured diving personages. Gl. 3. Maize god. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. An anthropomorphized toad-dog dives from a celestial] sky. Thompson interprets this figure as a dog for rea- son of the associated second glyph “pek” which may mean either dog or unfavorable weather. The form, the long extended tongue and the water lily flowing up from the head all suggest a toad. The large dark patches may be death patches or an attempt to further reinforce the toad motif. We must not rule out a hybridization of forms. Gl. 4. Woe to the maize seed. A bacab is seated in a conch shell and water is all about him. He wears one frontal protruding water lily. A more stylized water lily is seen on the back of the conch shell. In the latter instance the conch shell with a water lily on it was regularly associated with the old God N. A Chac wearing a complex head dress with a maize glyph and a frontal water lily sits cross legged in the rain. His mantle suggests the shell of a turle (this is attested to in GI. 1.). Almanac 62 (pp. 41 b—43b) ik A Chac kneels before a tree and is in the act of cutting it down. The base of the swollen tree is the head of a Chac. The suggestion may be that of Chac-ya, the red sapote used in an incantation, (Ritual of the Bacabs) for obstruction of the breathing passages. Calocarpum 111 T2. 14. fb 8 viride Pitt. has a red pulp and is still much esteemed among the Indians of Guatemala. Chacte, if intended, implicates Caesalpinia platyloba S. Wats., a tree used to make a dye as well as staffs. Gl. 5. Balché(?) A Chac squats over a tree that emerges from between his legs. Gl. 2. Abundance of maize. Gl. Fresh chocolate (Theobroma Cacao) A Chac, planting drill in hand, sits astride a tapir-like animal head. His head dress is the retrorse water lilies. Gl. 4. The maize god. Gl. 5. Abundance of maize. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. Gl. 5. Maize beetle grub. Almanac 63 (pp. 44b-45b) Divinatory TI. T2. T3. Gl. 6. Maize seed. Gl. 5. Copal (Bursera simaruba L.) Gl. 6. Iguana and maize dish. Gl. 5. Fish and maize. Gl. 6. Food, but especially maize. Almanac 65 (pp. 30c—33c) 73; A Chac with an axe and a seed pouch is seated on the red, world directional tree. Gl. 1. Chacte. This is the Brazil Redwood, Brosimum paraense Hub. Thought to have originated in tropical South America, this tree was intro- duced into Maya territory at some early date. It is also known as breadnut, for the seeds are eaten after being boiled. 112 rs yao T8. A Chac is in a diving position on top of the yellow world directional tree of the south. Gl. 3. Ti kante (at the yellow tree). Kante is listed in the Motul Dictionary as a tree the roots of which yield a yellow dye. Roys (1931) states that in Peten this is the tree with yellow flowers; however in Yucatan it is a tree the roots of which yield a yellow dye. Although this tree goes unidentified, | would suggest that it 1s either Chlorophora tinctoria (L.) Gaud. of the Moraceae, the root bark of which produces a yellow dye still used under the name “fustic,” or Podocarpus oleofolius D. Don. of the Podo- carpaceae. Both have appropriate patterns of distribution and can be used as dyes. God C is seated on top of an Agave with an axe in his hand. Thompson finds “identities of plant and deities pictured questionable.” I would point out that in the Ritual of the Bacabs the ci, or Agave, is used to pierce the tongue (1V:32). In this same work, there is mention made of balam-kuch-ci, the jaguar-vulture-agave that is useful in treating trantula eruptions and seizures. The scene depicted in the Dresden Codex seems obviously shamanic. The association of Agave americana L. with the shaman Is implicit in its association with the jaguar and vulture. To sit above an Agave is an impossible feat that could be accomplished only by a powerful shaman, as the leaves are like bayonets. The rattle in the hand of God C implies ceremonial importance. In a more mun- dane vein, it should be noted that the fiber of this plant was used extensively by the Maya. A Chac is seated inside the trunk of a hollow tree. Water has accumulated and and the Chac floats upon it. Gl. 3. Kakche is the ebony tree, Diospyros ebenaster Retz., also known as the black sapote. Although this is not one of the tree that is usually hollow 113 T9. at maturity, the suggestion would seem to be that the spirit of a Chac dominates this direc- tional tree. A Chac wearing the head dress of retrorse water lilies is astride a tree with an axe in his hand. Neither the pic- ture nor the corresponding glyphs identify the tree. Thompson notes the absence of white in the four direc- tional trees. | would point out that this is the only figure that wears the white water lily head dress in this tetrology. This completes the four necessary colors in this almanac. Almanac 66 (pp. 33c-39c) EE ies T7. T10. T14. T16. A Chac with double retrorse water lilies in his head dress sits under a sort of temple on a dias. He holds a vessel over which there is a maize glyph. A Chac sits on a sky glyph around which a water lily plant seems to climb. This is called by Thompson a “dubious element.” A Chac sits on a sky glyph and studies a maize glyph in his hand. A Chac ina pool wears water lilies in his head dress and pours water from a jar which will be magically re- plenished. Gl. 3. ti tanam men is translated as “on the fleecy clouds.” In a stricter sense, fanam is cotton, Gossypium mexicanum Tod. of the Malvaceae. A Chac is seated in a temple with the cauac, grape element, conspicuous. Either Vitis discolor Dalz. or V. sicvoides L. may be indicated. In both the stems make good cordage or may be used in basketry. The leaves produce a lather useful in washing, and a decoction of the stem is used to cure rheumatism. Gl. 4. indicates a mat woven possibly from cordage of Vitis (see above). 114 T20. A Chac with retrorse water lilies in his head dress sits holding a maize glyph. He is positioned above a pond of water. Almanac 67 (pp. 40c-4Ic) EE: ee TS: T4. Ta. A Chac with a single retrorse water lily in his head dress paddles a canoe. A Chac with a vessel of burning copal (Bursera simar- uba sits on the earth sign. Above the vessel is the ich sign for burning copal. Gl. 4. Maize offering. Thompson believes that the nodules around the sign may represent copal. Gl. 4. A turkey head emerges from the maize sign. Gl. 4. Red maize. Almanac 68 (pp. 42c-45c) Divinatory iy TZ, g i T4. A Chac with red body and a water lily in the back of his head dress is in the process of defeating the maize god. Gl. 4. Maize god. Gl. 5. Maize god. Gl. 6. Woe to the maize god. A Chac paddles a canoe and behind him is a dish of maize with an iguana over it. Gl. 5. Fresh maize seed. Gl. 6. Abundance of maize. Two Chacs, each with water lily head dresses are involved in a game or battle in which cords are whipped about and become entwined. Gl. 5. Maize god. Gl. 6. Abundance of maize. A Chac disguised as God B is astride a deer that is dying of thirst, an augury of great drought. The Chac has two retrorse water lilies in his head dress. In his hand are two feathery objects. Thompson suggests that LIS they might be torches. They are not red as is usual with most fire depictions. Almanac 69 (pp. 65a—69a) Divinatory a4, jes 1), T4. T6. iv? T8. ub T10. A Chac stands with a raised axe and shield as though prepared for combat. In his head dress are the two retrorse water lilies. Gl. 6. Maize god. A Chac, with the retrorse water lily head dress, walks carrying a sort of cornucopia of seed (cacao beans?) from which there is suspended a long-pedicellate water lily in bud, showing the three-parted calyx, still another representation of this flower. Since glyph 5 suggests dark water, it lends support to the identification inso- much as water lilies must grow in still water. Streams, rivers or seas will not support their growth. A Chac wearing the head dress of God K, including water lilies, stands grasping a fish. Gl. 5. Abundance of maize. Gl. 6. Time of the maize god. A Chac with a water lily head dress is dressed for combat. Gl. 6. Woe to the maize god. Gl. 4. Cotton thread. A Chac walks with spear and seed bag. A Chac holds a sac containing what has been suggested by Thompson as God K about to be born. Accompany- ing glyphs indicate cotton and black together which Thompson takes to be clouds. Certainly the opening of the fruit of Gossypium suggests birth and the fibers might suggest the placenta in which is found the seed. Gl. 6. Maize god. Two Chacs, each with one white water lily in his head dress, sit back to back. One is in the rain. Gl. 5. Good tidings for maize. 116 TLL. Ti2. EAs, A sky beast is seen dropping from a celestial band above the maize god who holds in his hand a com- pound “abundance of maize.” Gl. 3. Maize god. Gl. 6. Abundance of maize. God C is seated in the rain holding a maize sign. Gl. 5. Balché Gl. 6. The maize god. A Chac with an axe is seated on the spiny ceiba tree and it seems to make up the lower half of his body (tree of life). His hand holds the left blue side. The right side is red. Almanac 70 (pp. 65b-69b) ge TZ Te. T4. A hes T6. rae Te: A Chac paddles a canoe below which is an eel. The Chac wears the stylized water lily head dress. Gl. 5. Much new maize. A Chac spear thrower with water lilies in his head dress walks through the clouds. A Chac with a staff and back pack walks a non- material road. A Chac wearing water lilies in his head dress sits in a celestial chair. A Chac with a water lily head dress is seated on a monstrous head. A Chac with water lilies on his head dress sits over an oblong enclosure of crossed bones, possibly the under- world. Gl. 5. Maize. A Chac with a seed pouch sits on what Thompson calls a yaxche tree. He wears the water lily head dress. Gl. 2. Yaxche, the giant ceiba tree. Gl. 4. White maize and water, the maize drink, zaca or atole. Gl. 5. Decomposed maize, or turtle and maize. 117 zo, T10. TI. T12. AR? A Chac holds a water lily with a long pedicel above a lake in which there is fish and a conch. Gl. 4. Abundance of maize. Gl. 5. New maize. A Chac with a single retrorse water lily in his head dress drums on a turtle carapace. Gl. 5. New maize. Gl. 6. There is no eating of new maize. A Chac holds the moon goddess in a posture of coition. He wears the two retrorse water lilies in his head dress. A Chac with the traditional two water lilies in his head dress is seated on two fire symbols and holds a seed pouch, Gl. 5. Lime maize (i.e., maize seed treated with lime to remove the hull). A Chac with the two water lilies in his head dress holds a large bird and appears to be seated in clouds. Gl. 5. New maize. Almanac 71 (pp. 53a—58a and 51 b-58b) Although these are not arranged as the other f o/s, as the eight to ten glyphs above each picture are in a category that is different from the pairs of signs in each column, they will be numbered as are the other almanacs. a ig 42. 73, A death god is seated ona chair of bones with his hand raised in a prophetic gesture. From his frontal brow is a water lily with emanations that resemble smoke or quetzal feathers. It would seem to concern a lunar eclipse. The jaguar-sun god is depicted by a portrait of his face in a series of bands. These seem to be rooted at the base and from them four floral or vegetative motifs pro- trude. These are probably directional motifs. Since the glyphs suggest rain and unmitigated grief, the water interpretation of the bands seems to me better than Thompson’s suggestion that they are planetary bands. This depiction of the head of the sun god with jaguar whiskers seems akin to the previous one. He is set ina 118 T4. dies T6. ae Oe .8 similar cartouche of two areas of water, one light and the other dark from the four corners mammiform water lily buds protrude as directional flowers. A celestial band is above. The text seems to have confounded Thompson and others. | would not presume to explain the context of these, but I believe that my explanation of the water lilies as directional flowers and the water cartouche may assist others in expanding upon this. Gl. 4. The lands of maize (woe to). A vegetal form supports two areas, one dark the other white. These are crossed with diagonally placed flower- tipped rods. The internal structure of the dark area sug- gests rivers. The same image is metamorphosed in five different ¢’o/s. The suggestion of eclipse is evident as 1s misfortune. Thompson concludes that it is a puzzling text. The goddess Ixtab manifested as the moon goddess is seen hanging from a halter. Thompson suggests that this goddess has her eyes closed in death. Another pos- sibility is the representation of a trance state in which Ixtab (moon goddess alter ego) leads victims to a para- dise that is the Maya equivalent of Tlalocan. This is reinforced by Gl. 1. Gl. 1. Balché From a celestial band hang two “sacs,” on black the other white (cf. 55a, 56a, 57a, 56b, 57b, and 52b). These “sacs” are seen in various stages of metamorphosis. | have already suggested a connection with water, mov- ing and still. In the center is the Ain sign and two bones cross the black half. Both areas terminate in root-like or rivulet-like bases. The frequency of animal heads among the glyphs, all with protrusions of sorts, and the central kin sign associated with ritual divination sug- gest a magical context. A prophecy of evil is implicit. The frontal protrusions on the animal glyphs are remin- iscent of the Chac-water lily association. See commentary 1T7. 119 T9. See commentary T7. T10. A humanoid figure in the form of a frog-toad is seen in a diving position. His head is replaced by a Venus sign above which is the double knotted water lily. The knife- like protrusion emanating from the rear is suggested by Thompson to bea knife. It may be a symbol of the toad shaman metamorphosis. I would like to point out that while I have concentrated my attention upon those plant attributes of this almanac (71), lam not unaware that the overall theme of this Venus and lunar presentation is that of eclipse, hence the light and dark sacs, so that shaman priests could carry out their divination. At this point, | must adhere to the system followed by Thompson discarding Almanacs 72 and 73 of Gates (1932) and adding 76 and 77. Almanac 74 (pp. 71f-73c) Agricultural Divination T10. Gl. 4. Maize seed Almanac 75 (73b /eft to 71 and 73c left to 71c—column F) T2. Gl. 2. Woe to the maize seed. Te Gl. 3. Maize seed. EH Gl. 3. Abundance of maize. T10. Gl. 3. Abundance of maize. TII. Gl. 3. Woe to the maize god. TE, Gl. 3. Maize seed. T16. Gl. 3. Abundance of maize. 120 Almanac 75 (pp. 73b right leftward to 71F) Gl. 2. Woe to the maize seed. 2: i. Gl. T7. Gl. CTO: Gl. ChE Gl. T13. Gl. Th. Gl. 424%, Gl. 122. Gl. 124. Gl. Gl. +23, Gl. 3. Maize seed. Abundance of maize. Abundance of maize. Woe to the maize god. Maize seed. Abundance of maize. Maize seed. Woe to the maize seed. Zaca, the maize drink; probably fermented into a, DEEE. The maize god. Koch. According to Roys (1933) koch or ix- koch is now applied to the castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) which was introduced from Africa. The original kaxil-ix-koch is uncertain, but was used in divinatory cures for asthma. Almanac 76 is page 74 and depicts a torrential rain pouring from the mouth of a celestial alligator with humanoid forearms terminating in the cloven hoofs of the sacred deer. The old goddess Xkita pours more water from a vessel. According to Thompson (1930), she was ancestor of sun and moon. Black God L is also depicted. Gl. 15. Maize seed. 121 SUMMARY While many of the plant entries figured in the Dresden Codex relate to food, most especially maize, it is noteworthy that the narcotic Nymphaea ampla of that region is prominent in its appearance in this Codex in ritual context. Its narcotic proper- ties have been discussed by Emboden (1981, 1982) in the context of ritual use. | would assert that the diving Chac motif that is so frequent among the figures in the Dresden Codex as well as in Mayan ceramic representations is emblematic of that figure that goes into the aquatic underworld where Nymphaea grows. The Chac is sometimes metamorphosed into a toad, a toad-dog hybrid form, a jaguar or the toad-frog (God X). The jaguar has been called the “water lily jaguar” by Coe (1973), as it is often associated with the water lily; and the frog and toad are both metamorphic creatures associated with shamanic transforma- tions. The further implication of such narcotics as Jpomoea vio- lacea, Turbina corymbosa, Salvia divinorum and Psilocybe species lend credence to the assertion that this is a catalogue of divina- tory plants as well as a calendrical document. Even Nicotiana undulata must be included in a catalogue of narcotics used in a ritual context given the known potency of this tobacco. Furst (1976) presents an excellent exposition of this thesis. In summation, we may now view this Codex from another standpoint: that of presenting the magico-divinatory aspects of the life of the people who produced this extraordinary document as revealed by the prominent position of plants having narcotic properties figuring into the imagery of the Codex. Much remains to be deciphered with respect to this formidable document. Per- haps some of the assertions presented here will be an adjunct to further research on one of the most precious pre-Cortesian codi- ces, and indeed, one of the most important documents of the early Americas. ILLUSTRATIONS The frequency with which plant motifs are figured in the Dresden Codex necessitates the reader’s consultation of a pub- lished edition. The figures selected are but a fraction of those 122 noted. The images have been redrawn over magnificants of the originals using alcohol based ink. Every effort has been made to avoid modification of any imagery. i225 PLATE 10 Plate 10. Nymphaea ampla DC., The white water lily of the Maya. Drawn by Frances Runyan. 124 PLATE II ver | Plate 11. Chapter I, Series 1,8. The Water Lily Jaguar wearing the retrorse blossom on his head. 125 PLATE 12 ys Plate 12. Chapter II, Series 1, 19. The Moon Goddess, with two protruding and three retrorse water lilies in her head dress. 126 PEATE [3 Plate 13. Chapter IV (The Planet Venus) 48. A complex head dress utilizes pods of Theobroma as well as Nymphaea with inserted quezal plumes. The original is in color (unusual for this codex). 127 PLATE 14 * Plate 14. Chapter V (Lunar Tables) 56. The four cardinal points are indicated by the water lily buds. These are connected to a water lily leaf. A leaf, or pad, motif is seen above as well. PLATES Plate 15. Chapter X (New Year Ceremonies) 25. The masked diety has three water lily buds inserted into each other in his head dress. The context is the ritual offering of balché and comestibles. 129 PLATE 16 Plate 16. Chapter 10 (Farmer’s Almanacs) 29. A masked diety is seated on a vegetal mound. Before him are two water lilies and a water lily protrudes over his brow. 130 PEATE t7 Plate 17. Chapter XI (Farmer's Almanacs) 33. A chac is seated over water within a sacred well or lake. Above the masked figure are leaves that suggest the narcotic Turbina corymbosa, the seeds of which provoke hallucinations. 131 PLATE 18 ‘ Plate 18. Chapter XII (Farmer’s Almanac) 40. A diving jaguar, bearing a torch and wearing a water lily head dress, enters the realm of the underworld. 132 NOTE: To be inserted after page 132 in binding. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barthel, T. S. 1955. Maya-Palaeographik: die Hieroglyphe Strafe. Ethnos. Vol. 20, pp. 146-151. Caso, A. 1942. El Pariso Terrenal et Teotihuacan. Curanderos America- nos, Mexico, D.F. Coe, Michael D. 1973. The Maya Scribe and His World. The Grolier Club, New York, pp. 150-155. Emboden, William A. 1979. Nymphaea ampla and other Maya Narcotic Plants. Mexicon, Vol. 1, pp. 50-52. Emboden, William A. 1981. Transcultural use of Water Lilies in Maya and Egyptian Civilizations. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol. 3, pp. 39--83. Emboden, William A. 1982. The Water Lily and the Maya Scribe. New Scholar, Vol. 8, pp. 103-127. Fernandez, James W. (see Furst, Peter T. 1972). Furst, Peter T. 1972. Flesh of the Gods. Praeger Publishers, N.Y., pp. 244-247. Furst, Peter T. 1976. Hallucinogens and Culture. Chandler and Sharp Pub- lishers, Inc. San Francisco, pp. 23-30. Gates, W. 1932. The Dresden Codex. Prepared by W. E. Gates. Maya Society Publication II. Baltimore. Landa, Diego de. 1579. Relacién de las Cosas de Yucatan: translated and edited by Alfred M. Tozzer. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Vol. 18, pp. 210-—wll (cf. Perez Martinez edition, 1938, p. 75). Martinez, Perez. 1941. (See Landa, Diego de. 1579). Martyr, Peter. 1520. De Orbe Novo. English edition of 1612 under the impressa: Martyr D’Angleria, De Novo Orbe or the Historie of the West Indies in Eight Decades. London. Rands, R. L. 1953. The Water Lily in Maya Art: a complex of alleged Asiatic origin. Anthropological Papers, Bureau of Ethnology Bulletin Number 151, pp. 75-153. Real, Antonio de Ciudad. 1873. Relaciédn...de algunas...que sucedieron al Padre Fray Alonso Ponce. Vol. 2, p. 392. Roys, R. L. 1931. The Ethnobotany of the Maya. Tulane University Press, Louisiana. 359 pp. Roys, R. L. 1933. The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel. Carnegie Institute Publication. Washington, Number 438, p. 99. Sahagun, B. de. 1950-1969. Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain. Translated and edited by A. J.O. Anderson and C. E. Dibble. School of American Research Monograph. Salt Lake City and Santa Fe. Book I1, p. 119. Thompson, J. Eric S. 1966. Merchant Gods of Middle America. Mexico. pp. 159-172. Thompson, J. EricS. 1972. A Commentary of the Dresden Codex, A Maya Hieroglyphic Book. American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia, pp. 1-156. Tozzer, A. M. and G. Allen. 1910. Animal Figures in the Maya Codices. Papers of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge. Vol. 4, p. KP Ximénez, Francisco. 1985. Popol Vuh. Scherzer, Vienna. Englished by Delia Goetz and Sylvanus G. Morley from the translation by Adrian Recinos. Norman. University of Oklahoma Press, 1978. pp. 1-75. Zimmerman, G. 1956. Die Hieroglyphen der Maya-Handschriften. Univer- sity of Hamburg. Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiet der Auslandskunde. Vol. 62 Reihe B. (Vélkerkunde, Kulturgeschichte und Sprachen 34.) BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 2 SPRING 1983 DE PLANTIS TOXICARIIS EMUNDO NOVO TROPICALE COMMENTATIONES XXXI FURTHER ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL NOTES ON MALPIGHIACEOUS PLANTS OF THE NORTHWESTERN AMAZON RICHARD EVANS SCHULTES A number of years ago, I published an article entitled “Notes on toxic or medicinal malpighiaceous species of the Amazon” in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 24 (1975) 121-131. These notes were based on collections identified by Dr. Jose Cuatrecasas of the Smithsonian Institution—identifications published in his mono- graph of the Malpighiaceae of Colombia in Webbia 13 (1958) 343-664. During the ensuing eight years, additional collections of this family have been distributed and identified. At present, a total of 112 of my numbers have been determined by Dr. William R. Anderson of the University of Michigan—a much more extensive selection than was available to Dr. Cuatrecasas. These identifica- tions have been published in his “The Botany of the Guiana Highlands— Part XI Malpighiaceae” in Mem. N.Y. Bot Gard. 32 (1981) 21-305. It is now possible to offer additional notes on the uses of malpighiaceous plants of medicinal or toxicological nature by Indians in the northwest Amazon. Only occasionally have name changes been made. Thus, in great part, there is little need to alter the citation of the notes which I published earlier. My deepest appreciation goes to Dr. Anderson for the care and interest which he has shown in studying my malpighiaceous col- lections. The ethnopharmacological observations are the result of my field research in the Colombian Amazonia from 194] through 1954. The genera and species are arranged alphabetically. The speci- mens cited are deposited for the most part in the Gray Herbarium 133 or the Economic Herbarium of Oakes Ames at Harvard Univer- sity or in the Herbario Nacional Colombiano in Bogota, Co- lombia. Burdachia Dutkei Steyvermark in Fieldiana Bot. 28 (1952) 282. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Negro, Ilha Gavido, near mouth of Rio Branco. July 7, 1967. Schultes 24531. This plant is believed to be toxic by the natives of the region where the collection was made. There is, however, no chemical indication of the presence in the genus of a toxic constituent. Burdachia prismatocarpa A dr. Jussieu var. loretoensis Anderson in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 32 (1981) 143. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. October, 1946. Schultes et Black 8400. The Tikuna Indians formerly employed the bank of this plant in preparing an emetic drink for use by chronic sufferers of stomach pains. Byrsonima arthropoda Adr. Jussieu in Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 2, 13 (1840) 335. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. June 15, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12562.—Jinogojé. Schultes et Cabrera 19815. Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Amazonas, Leticia. Schultes et Lopez 10400. The bark of Byrsonima arthropoda is crushed, soaked in warm water and poulticed on deep cuts to hasten healing amongst the Makuna Indians of the Rio Piraparana. It is of interest that natives in British Guiana are reported to use the inner bark of Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) HBK. for a similar purpose (A.C. Smith 3344). Byrsonima japurensis Adr. Jussieu in Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 2, 13 (1840) 335. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Raudal Yayacopi. February 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15507.—Jinogojé. Schultes et Cabrera 16594. 134 The Makuna Indians value Byrsonima japurensis in the form of a tea as a strong vermifuge. Diacidia galphimioides Grisebach in Martius, Fl. Bras. 12, pt. | (1858) 120. CoLombBIA: Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Kuduyari, Cerro Yapoboda. “Low bush, I-2 feet tall. Flowers yellow.” October 5-6, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14355.—Same locality. April 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 20049.—Rio Karuru, Mesa de Yambi, Savannah Goo-ran-hoo-da. “Bush. Flowers bright yellow.” April 15-16, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19170.—Rio Vaupes, between Mitu and Javarete, Cerro de Tipiaca. “Low bush. Flowers yellow.” May 14-24, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19314. A tea of this plant is said to be strongly astringent and to be used by the Kubeo Indians as a remedy for colds and bronchial conditions in which the throat is affected. Diacidia parvifolia Cuatrecasas in Webbia 13 (1958) 632. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Kuduyari, Cerro Yapoboda. Schultes et Cabrera 14355.—Rio Kubiyu, Cerro Kafienda. “Flowers yellow.” November 10, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 18307. The leaves of this small shrub are collected by the Kubeo Indians of the Rio Kuduyari, dried and pulverized and worn in pockets in the belief that they ward off snakes. Heteropterys sp. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Putumayo, Puerto Ospina. “Exten- sive liana along river’s edge. Said to be very toxic; not employed.” July 5-8, 1942. Schultes 4029. The common name of this liana in the upper Putumayo area is mataperro (“dog killer”), indicative of its extreme toxicity. The plant is, however, apparently not utilized. Heteropterys acutifolia Jussieu in Arch. Mus. Paris 3 (1843) 459. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Raudal de Jirtjirimo. “Small tree. Flowers yellow.” March 15, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15944.—Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Miritiparana, Cafo Guacaya. “Vine. Wings of fruit pink- ish.” April 24, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16248. The Makuna name for this plant is w}-ka-hee-ma. 135 Heteropterys macradena (DC.) Anderson in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 32 (1981) 202. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Miraflores. April 20, 1943. Schultes 5371. A tea of the leaves of this species is valued amongst the Indians of the Rio Vaupes to reduce “blood in the stool.” Heteropterys nervosa Adr. Jussieu ex St. Hilaire, Fl. Bras. Merid. 3 (1832) 26. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. August, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13770. Indians living in the Rio Kananari bathe the feet with a hot decoction of the bark of this liana to help heal cracks in the thick skin that are chronically infected. The Taiwano name is ma- fee-na-ne. Heteropterys olivacea (Cuair.) Anderson in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 32 (1981) 178. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Apaporis, Raudal de Jerijirimo. November 25, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14591. The Taiwanos of the Rio Kananari make a solution of the leaves of Heteropterys olivacea soaked in an oil (possibly of Jessenia Bataua) to “cure” deafness by repeatedly dropping it into the ears. Heteropterys siderosa Cuatrecasas in Webbia 13 (1958) 476. CoLtombBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, confluence of Rios Ajaju and Macaya (Puerto Hevea). July 23,1943. Schultes 5646. The Karijona Indians of the uppermost Rio Vaupés believe that the crushed leaves of Heteropterys siderosa rubbed vigor- ously on painful joints will reduce inflammation. Lophanthera pendula Ducke in Trop. Woods 50 (1937) 34. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Negro, Sao Felipe and vicinity. January 8, 1948. Schultes et Lopez 9600. 136 The leaves of this small shrub in tea form are considered to bea strong diuretic by the Brazilian inhabitants of the upper Rio Negro where the vernacular name of the plant is muruci. Analkaloid—lophantherine—has been reported from Lophan- thera latescens Ducke, but its structure is still unknown (Heg- nauer: Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen 5 (1969) 25). Mascagnia Benthamiana (Griseb.) Anderson in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 32 (1981) 217. CoLtomBia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Karaparana, entre las bocas y El Encanto. May 22-28, 2943. Schulres 3827a. The Witoto Indians give a drink prepared from the samaras of Mascagnia Benthamiana to stimulate the appetite following serious malaria. This is the first collection of Mascangia Benthamiana trom Colombia, and the locality is far to the west of the general range of the species. Mascagnia castenea (Cuarr.) Anderson in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 32 (1981) 218. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Negro basin, Rio Dimiti, at base of Cerro Dimiti. May 12-19, 1948. Schultes et Lopez 10014. Natives living along the uppermost Rio Negro consider the bark of this liana toxic and assert that it was formerly employed with other plant ingredients in preparing curare. This plant, first described as a species of Heteropterys, has been known hitherto only from the type collection. Tetrapteris styloptera Jussieu in Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 2, Bot. 13 (1840) 262. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Miritiparana, Caflo Guacaya. “Flowers yellow. Vine.” March 2-8, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15784. The Tanimukas, who call this vine wee-po-awk, employ the bark in powdered form as a styptic. BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 2 SPRING 1983 PREPARATION OF THE HAITIAN ZOMBI POISON E. WADE DAVIS For many years travellers to the Caribbean island of Haiti have returned with sensational reports of zombies, the so-called living dead of the Voudou society. According to these popular accounts zombies are innocent victims, raised in a comatose trance from their graves by malevolent Voudou priests (bokors) and forced to toil indefinitely as slaves. Serious students of Haitian culture, while noting that the vast majority of the peasantry believes in the physical reality of zom- bies, have usually considered the phenomenon as folklore (Hers- kovits 1937, Leyburn 1941, Mars 1945, Bourguignon 1959, Meétraux 1959, Courlander 1960). Certain writers, however, have postulated a material basis for zombification (Hurston 1938). This basis is a reputed poison acting dramatically to lower metabolism and simulate death so much so that the victim is buried alive and later resusitated with an antidote administered by the bokor in the graveyard. (Hurston 1938, Leyburn 1941, Métraux 1959). Scientific interest in this zombi poison was recently stimulated by three cases of zombification, one of which may represent the first potentially verifiable instance (Douyon 1980, Pradel and Casgha 1983, Davis 1983). Physicians familiar with these three cases, fully cognizant of the medical potential of such a drug, asked me in the spring of 1982 to investigate its organic composition in Haiti. During the course of three expeditions, the complete prepara- tion of five poisons used to make zombies was documented at four widely separated villages in Haiti. Although each locality has an unique formula for the poison, botanical and zoological determination of the voucher specimens indicates that the princi- ple ingredients are consistent at three of the four localities and in four of the five poisons. The formulae for the antidotes, on the other hand, show no consistency in these widely separated localities. 139 The ingredients and preparations discussed here were collected at three representative sites: the environs of Saint Mare and Gonaives in the Artibonite valley of central Haiti, and the third on the Plain of Leogane, south of the capital of Port-au-Prince. For the Voudouist, the creation of a zombi is essentially a magical act (Davis 1983) and thus prior to the preparation of each poison, the participants must seek spiritual and material protec- tion. While this may be a simple matter of the houngan, or benevolent Voudou priest, rubbing a magical solution on each individual, it can involve rather elaborate ritualistic cleansings as well as the preparation of protective magic potions. At a small coastal fishing village, for example, this initial stage of the elabo- ration of the poison was particularly complex, as the following excerpt from my journal indicates: “The houngan began by dipping a small pre-Columbian axe- head, known to the Voudouist as a pierre tonnere, into a strong ammonia-based solution, and then rubbing vigorously all the par- ticipants. He sprinkled a small sample of the poison in a protected corner of the hut, and then handed mea robust rooster and a jar of water, instructing me to pour a portion of the water down the bird’s throat. Moments later he took the rooster, placed it on top of the poison and covered it with a hemp sack. “With the constant accompaniment of the sacred asson, or rattle, and the chants of the members of the secret society, the houngan sanctified my protection bottle. | named my intended victim, and he whispered it to the bottle. The president of the secret society, meanwhile, inverted a bottle of rum, causing it to bubble in a peculiar fashion, a certain sign that the poison would successfully complete my work. A match placed into the bottle exploded into flames and momentarily illuminated the entire enclosed temple. “The madjaway (see below) ground up pieces of cadavre gate (an unidentified wood of the Capparidaceae) and mixed the dust with bits of a dried human cadavre and the shavings of a human tibia. The president pulled four feathers from the rooster’s wing and instructed me to tie them in the shape of a cross as I asked them to bless my proposed work. At that point, Madame Jacques (my associate) accompanied the madjaway as he took the rooster to the sea in order to bathe its left foot. Upon their return to the temple, the president threw sulphur powder into a flame as he released the rooster to wander about the room. Placing seven drops of clairin (crude alcohol) and seven drops of rum into a bottle, the president began to mix the actual protection, adding sugar, basil leaves (Ocimum Basilicum L.), ground human bones, cadavre gate, and 140 corn (Zea Mavs L.). Then he rasped a human skull and added further bits of dried human flesh provided by the guardian of the cemetery. He then handed me three poisonous powders and gun- powder, instructing me to knead the powders into the wax before braiding the candles. When it came time to administer the poison, I was to light the candle and salute a sequence of stars before burying the candle beneath a path where I knew the intended victim would pass. To set the “trap” I had merely to sprinkle the poisonous powder in the form of across on the same spot, whilst repeating the victim’s name. Each time I handled the poison, I was to drink from my protection bottle. “By this time, the president of the society was possessed by Ogoun, the spirit of fire and the metallurgic elements, and | was told that for complete protection | would have to be bathed by the rooster. The energy of the bird would thus pass to me, and by the end of the bath the rooster would be dead. As I stripped for the bath, I was instructed to drink from the protection bottle. Then the president, with wide strokes of the rooster, washed my entire body with an aromatic herbal solution. Indeed, by the end of the bath, the rooster lay on the ground, flaccid and quite dead.” While the protective magical potions guard the individual from the power of his own poison, they may also serve as antidotes to neutralize the effects of the poison on the actual victim. The ingredients and the preparations of these antidotes, however, are completely inconsistent from one locality to the next. For exam- ple, the antidote prepared at Saint Marc consisted of over thirty ingredients. The houngan began by placing in a mortar several handfuls of dried or fresh leaves of six plants, aloe (Aloe Vera L.), gaiac (Guaiacum officinale L.), cedre (Cedrela odorata L.), bois ca-ca (Capparis cynophyllophora L.), bois chandelle (Amyris maritima Jacq.) and cadavre gate (cf. Capparis sp.). The plant material was ground with a quarter ounce of rock salt and then added to a basin containing ten crushed moth balls, a cup of seawater, several ounces of c/airin, a bottle of perfume, and a quarter litre of a solution purchased from the local apothecary and known as magie noire, or black magic. Additional ingre- dients included ground human bones, shavings from a mule’s tibia and from a dog’s skull, various coloured and magically named samples of talc, ground match heads and sulphur powder. At Gonaives, on the other hand, the antidote contained a handful of bayahond leaves ( Prosopsis juliflora (Sw.) DC), three handfuls 141 of ave leaves (Petiveria alliacea L.), a litre of clairin, and ammo- nia and three magically prepared lemons. The antidote prepared near Leogane consisted solely of ammonia, c/airin, and various aromatic solutions purchased at the local apothecary. Atall three localities, the initial treatment of the victim involves the topical application of the antidote as a vigorous massage. The antidote, nevertheless, is effective only during the two or three weeks immediately following exposure to the poison. After that time the houngan must resort to the standard Voudou curing ceremony or expedition that is used to exorcise any death spirit. The victim is laid in a hole in the ground, his feet and head bound with white cloth and his body covered with a white sheet. A pierre tonnerre and the skulls of a human and a dog are placed on top of the sheet, whilst a sucker of a banana plant (Musa paradisi- aca L.) is placed alongside the victim’s body. Three calabashes of food representing three sacred Voudou concepts, the crossroads, the cemetery and the spirit of the forest (Grans Bois) are placed at the victim’s head, on his abdomen and by his feet. The houngan then takes a live chicken and breaks each of its limbs to extract the death spirit from the corresponding limbs of the victim. The sacrifice of the chicken is complete when the houngan bites off the head. The victim then partakes of the sacrificial blood and is bathed with the antidote. Finally, as the victim lies in the ground, seven handfuls of earth taken from the crossroads, the cemetery and the forest and flung into the grave. The victim leaps up and the spirit flees into the banana plant. After a ritual bath with the blood of the sacrificed chicken and a restful night in the sanctity of the temple, the victim is well. Hence, in considering both the composition of the various antidotes, and the way that they are administered, it appears that the ingredients are probably either chemically inert or else used in insufficient quantities to result in any pharmacological activity. In short, the recognized antidotes are but symbolic supports for what is essentially a magico-religious healing ceremony. Though the antidotes are relatively uninteresting from a phar- macological point of view, the poisons themselves contain some of the most toxic organic substances known. 142 The poison collected in the environs of the town of Saint Marc was prepared ina deserted brook in the middle of desolate scrub- lands far from the nearest settlement. The houngan, as healer and representative of all that is benign, has no contact with the poison itself; this destructive force is processed by his madjaway who is considered neither an apprentice nor an assistant, but rather the physical support of the houngan. The first precept of the Voudou religion is that the temple, or hounfor, must never collapse, and the houngan is the personification of the temple. The word mad- jaway means literally “do not fall down”. In Voudou ceremonies, it is often the madjaway who actually carries out the ritual task. Though the madjaway prepares the poison, it is the presence of the houngan that assures the safety of the participants. He initiates the ritual songs and rubs the bodies of all present with protective salves. It is the houngan who covers the mouth and nose of each participant with the red cloth, the symbol of the Petro rites, the most powerful and violent of the Voudou faith. The first step in the actual elaboration of the poison involves placing a live toad (Bufo marinus L.) in a closed container with any type of ‘snake’. The houngan at Saint Marc preferred to use a species of polychaete worm, Hermodice carunculata Pallas. According to Voudou belief, this procedure increases the toxicity of the toad; in fact, the ‘snake’ does agitate the toad, increasing the amount of toxic secretions from the paratoidal glands. These secretions contain at least 26 highly active compounds, including: a) cardioactive steroids known commonly as bufogenins and bufotoxins; b) phenylethlamine bases and derivatives such as dopamine, adrenaline, noradrenaline; and c) tryptamine bases and derivatives such as serotonin, cinobufagin and bufotenin (Kennedy 1982). The polychaete worm has setae that inflict a paralyzing effect (Mullin 1923) and may be venomous (Halstead 1978). The seaworm and toad are then killed and sun-dried with two innocuous looking marine fish, the fou-fou (Diodon hystrix L.) and the crapaud de mer, the sea toad (Sphoeroides testudineus L.). These two species belong to a large pantropical order of fish ( Tetraodontiformes), many of which have the deadly nerve toxin, 143 tetrodotoxin, in their skin, liver, ovaries and intestines (Halstead 1978). Toxin levels within the species of Diodon vary, leading some investigators to believe that the fish serve as transvectors of the tetrodotoxin (Hashimoto 1979, Halstead 1978). Members of the genus Sphoeroides are known to be particularly virulent. The four sun-dried ingredients are placed on hot coals, along with fresh specimens of two lizards, Ameiva chrysolaema Cope and Leiocephalus schreibersi Gravenhorst, and several pieces of human bone. Neither species of lizard is known to be toxic, but Ameiva dorsalis, a related species from Dominica, Is said by natives to make the hair fall out and the skin turn green. Skinned and gutted, the lizard may be eaten but a Dominican folktale cautions, “if the ground lizard were good to eat, it would not be so common.” A species in the related genus, Cnemiedophotus, the Florida bluetail, causes, when ingested, loss of balance in domes- tic cats (Lasell, pers. comm.). All six animal ingredients are roasted to a soft oily consistency and then placed ona wooden mortar to be ground with the burnt human remains. At this stage in the preparation, 10 fruits of Mucuna pruriens (L.)DC, a leguminous liana known as the pois gratter, the itching pea, are placed in the mortar. The pods are armed with urticating hairs that cause a maddening itch: the seeds contain psychotomimetic constituents and may have hallucino- genic properties (Schultes and Hofmann 1973). Approximately 30 seeds of a second leguminous plant, tcha-tcha, Albizzia Leb- beck L., are likewise ground into the poison at this stage. Although the chemistry of this species is poorly known (Raffauf pers. comm.), it is of note that in West Africa, near the original homeland of the Haitian ancestors, the bark of a related species, Albizzia zygia is used in a drug known as ibok usiak owo. This potion serves as a truth serum, “a medicine for mentioning per- sons” and is probably administered as an ordeal poison (Forde 1956). All the ingredients are pounded to a coarse consistency, and then sifted in a metal strainer to yield the final product. The houngan at the locality near Gonaives distinguished three stages or “degrees” to the preparation of the poison. During the first approximately 20 grams of ground centipeds of the orders 144 Spirobolida and Polydesmida and two entire tarantulas, crabe araignee (Theraphosidae) were mixed with four plant products: 30 seeds of tcha-tcha (Albizzia Lebbeck), 40 seeds of consigne (Trichilia hirta L.), and four handfuls of dried leaves each of pomme cajou (Anacardium occidentale L.) and bresillet (Como- cladia glabra Spreng.), both species of the Anacardiaceae capable of causing severe dermititis. These ingredients wére ground together in the mortar, placed ina jar and buried. After two days, two plants which were not available for collection, known locally as tremblador and desmembre, were added to form the second degree. Five days later, the third degree was marked by the addition of another set of plants capable of causing surface irrita- tions. Two were members of the Urticaceae, maman guépes (Urera baccifera (L.) Gaud.) and mashasha (Dalechampia scan- dens L.). The others were calmador, Dieffenbachia Sequine (Jacq.) Schott., the common dumbcane which contains calcium oxalate crystals in its tissues, and bois pine (Zanthoxylum marti- nicense (Lam.) DC.) which 1s covered with sharp spines. Finally, the madjaway added approximately three grams of the seeds of the concombre zombi, the zombi’s cucumber (Datura Stramo- nium L.) to the preparation. The elaboration of the animal constituents was rather similar to the process documented at Saint Marc. The bango toad (Bufo marinus) was placed in a small box with a common non- venomous snake. It was then killed and sun-dried with the three species of puffer fish, the bi/an (probably Diodon holacanthus), the fou-fou (Diodon hystrix) and the crapaud de mer (Spho- eroides testudineus). As at Saint Marc, these ingredients were placed on hot coals and broiled to an oily consistency. A novel additive at Gonaives was the crapaud blanc (Osteopilus domini- censis Tschudi), a fresh specimen of which was placed directly on the hot coals along with several human bone fragments. The skin of this tree frog is covered by irritating glandular secretions (Lynn 1958) and a related species Osteopilus septentrionalis Dumeril & Bibron has been reported in Cuba to cause temporary blindness (Williams pers. comm.). At the third degree, the animaland plant products were combined, ground in the mortar and sifted to produce the final powder. 145 The poison prepared at Leogane consisted only of animal constituents. Once again, the bilan (cf. Diodon holacanthus) and a crapaud de mer (Sphoeroides testudineus) were sun-dried, broiled and placed ina mortar. Fresh specimens of two tarantulas (Theraphosidae) and three non-venomous lizards the miti verde (Anolis coelestinus Cope), the zanolite (Anolis cybotes Cope), and the mabouya (Epicrates striatus Fischer) were roasted on coals with two locally recognised varieties of Osteopilus domini- censis, the crapaud blanc and the crapaud brun. The houngan at Leogane especially emphasised the toxicity of human remains and included both ground human bones and dried pieces of human flesh in the preparation. The final product at Leogane was a coarse powder. In all three documented preparations, the consistent ingre- dients are readily identified. The plant additives include species with urticating hairs, anacardiaceous plants that produce severe dermititis, an aroid with irritating calcium oxalate crystals and a number of species with spines. The addition of these irritants is related to the method of applying the poison. Though topically active, any one of the variations is said to be particularly effective if inhaled or applied to an open wound. In one preparation obtained at Saint Marc, ground glass was added to the mortar. Another informant suggested pricking the victim’s skin with a thorn before applying the toxic powder. Several of the plants induce such acute irritation that the victim in scratching himself may cause open wounds. The poison may be applied more than once to the victim, and undoubtedly these self-inflicted wounds increase susceptability to subsequent doses. There are two constant animal ingredients, ground human remains and One or more species in two genera of puffer fish: Diodon hystrix, Diodon holacanthus and Sphoeroides testudi- neus. In each preparation, the human remains are burnt almost to charcoal and probably are chemically inert. The puffer fish are merely broiled, and it is significant to note that neither frying, stewing, boiling or baking denature tetrodotoxins (Savtschenko 1882, Halstead and Bunker 1953). Tetrodotoxin is one of the most poisonous non-protein substances known: as an anesthetic, it is 160,000 times more potent that cocaine (Mosher 1964). 146 Furthermore it is topically active (Boye 1911, Phisalix 1922) and is capable of inducing physical states of simulated death charac- terised by immobility, peripheral paralysis and extremely low metabolic rates (Akashi 1880, Kimura 1927, Leber 1927, Fukada and Tani 1937, 1941, Fukada 1951, Halstead 1978, Davis 1983). It would seem, in closing, that, if zombification has a real pharma- cological basis, the active constituent of the toxic preparation would undoubtedly be tetrodotoxin. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was undertaken whilst I was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Doctoral Fellowship). Direct financial support for all phases of the project was generously provided by the International Psychi- atric Research Foundation. My botanical determinations were verified by Prof. Richard A. Howard of the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University and the expert on the flora of the Caribbean. Zoological determinations were furnished by the staff of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. In par- ticular I would like to thank Prof. Ernest Williams and Messrs. Greg Mayer, Jose Rosado, James Knight, Franklin Ross, Karsten Hartel and John Hunter. Complete sets of voucher spec- imens have been deposited at the M.C.Z. (animals) and (plants) at the Economic Herbarium of Oakes Ames in the Botanical Museum of Harvard University. I would especially like to thank Prof. Richard Evans Schultes for reviewing the manuscript, and Dr. Bruce Halstead for providing bibliographical material. The zombi project was born of the vision of three men: Mr. David Merrick, Prof. Heinz Lehmann, and the late Prof. Nathan S. Kline. In Haiti I received essential logistical and intellectual assistance from a number of individuals. Dr. Lamarque Douyon shared his insights concerning medical aspects of zombification. In the Hai- tian countryside, I worked directly with several houngan who openly shared with me their remarkable knowledge. In particular I would like to thank Messrs. M. Pierre, Levoynt, J. Belfort, M. Bonnet, La Bonte and Madame Jacques. Finally | would like to 147 acknowledge my two colleagues M. Herard Simon and M. Max Beauvoir. Herard Simon and his wife Helen are serviteurs of the most profound awareness. One of the truly great traditional houngan of all of Haiti, Herard offered his spiritual and physical protection without which this project would never have been completed. Max Beauvoir, a man of grace and profound knowl- edge, was also directly responsible for the success of the project. He and his wife Elizabeth offered me their home, and provided emotional, intellectual and physical support at the most critical moments. His daughter Rachel worked with me on every phase of the fieldwork. She showed herself to be a courageous fieldworker, an insightful anthropologist and a wonderful companion. BIBLIOGRAPHY Akashi, T. 1880. Experiences with fugu poisoning. //i Shimbum 27:19-23. Bourguignon, E. 1959. The persistence of folk belief: some notes on canni- balism and zombis in Haiti. Journal of American Folklore 72(283):36—47. Boye,L. 1911. Intoxications et empoisonnements in C. Gralland A. Clarac (eds.), Traite de Pathologique, Exotique, Clinique et Therapeutique. Paris p. 387. Courlander, H. 1960. The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People, University of California Press, Berkeley. Davis, E. W. 1983. The ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombi. Journal of Ethnopharmacology (in press). Douyon,L. 1980. Les zombis dans le contexte vodou et Haitien. Haiti Sante 1:1( 19-23), Forde, D. (ed) 1956.) The Eftk Traders of Old Calabar Oxtord University Press, London. Fukada, TF. 1951. Violent increase of cases of puffer poisonings. Clinics and Studies 29(2). Fukada, T. and |. Tani 1937. Records of puffer poisonings Report 1. Avusha University Medical News 11 (1):7-13. 1941. Records of puffer poisonings. Report 3 Nippon Igaku Ovobi Kenko Hoken (3258):7 13. Halstead, B. W. 1978.) Poisonous and Venomous Marine Animals of the World, Darwin Press, Princeton, N.J. Halstead, B. W. and N. C. Bunker 1953. The effect of the commercial canning process upon putfer poisoning. California Fish and Game 39(2): 219-228. Hashimoto, Y. 1979. Marine Toxins and Other Bioactive Marine Metabo- lites, Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo. Herskovits, M. J. 1937. Life ina Haitian Valley, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 148 Hurston, Z.N. 1981. Tel/ My Horse, Turtle Island, Berkeley. Kennedy, A.B. 1982) £cce Bufo: The toad inanture and Olmec iconography. Current Anthropology 23(3):273-290. Kimura, S. 1927. Zur kenntnis der wirkung des tetrodongiftes. Tohoku Journal Experimental Medicine 9:41 65. Leber, A. 1927. Uber tetrodonvergiftung. Arh. Trop. Grenzebiete 26:641 643. Leyburn, J. G. 1941. The Haitian People. Yale University’ Press, New Haven. Lynn, W.G. 1958. Some amphibians from Haiti and a new subspecies of Eleutherodactvlus schmidti, Herpetologica 14:153- 157. Mars, L. P. 1945. The story of Zombi in Haiti. Man 45(22):38-40. Méetraux, A. 1959. Voodoo in Haiti, Oxford University Press, New York. Mosher, H.S.,F. A. Fuhrman, H. D. Buchwald, H.G. Fischer, 1964. Taricha- toxin-Tetrodotoxin: A potent neurotoxin. Science 144:1100— 1110. Mullin,C. A. 1923. Report onsome polychaetous annelids; collected by the Barbados-Antigua expedition from the University of lowa in 1918. Univer- sity lowa Studies in Natural History 10(3):39-45. Savtschenko,P.N. 1882. Acase of poisoning by fish. Medirs. Pribav. Morsk. Shorniku, St. Petersburg (9):55- 61. Schultes,R. E.and A. Hofmann, 1980. The Botany and Chemistry of Hallu- cinogens (ed. 2), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, III. 149 BoTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 2 SPRING 1983 THE PHYTOCHEMISTRY OF QUARARIBEA FUNEBRIS' ROBERT F. RAFFAUF? AND THOMAS M. ZENNIF3 In an earlier issue of the Botanical Museum Leaflets, the eth- nobotany of Quararibea funebris (La Llave) Vischer (Bombaca- ceae) was reviewed. The flowers have been used since pre- Columbian times by the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico as an additive to chocolate drinks and medicinally as ana ntipyretic, a cough remedy, to control “psychopathic fear” and to regulate the menses (Rosengarten, 1977). There is also some evidence to suggest that they may have been used as an hallucinogen (Was- son, 1982). Other than Rosengarten’s report of the presence of alkaloids in these flowers, the chemistry of the genus has not been studied. In the hands of the phytochemist, the family has not fared much better. Mucilages (Gibbs, 1974), the carbohydrates raffi- nose and stachyose (Gibbs, 1974; Hegnauer, 1964) and the cyclo- propenoid fatty acids obtained from the seed oils have been reported (Bohannen, 1978; Morris and Hall, 1967). In addition to the economically important members of the family (Ceiba pen- tandra, kapok; Ochroma spp.. balsa wood), the fruits of several! genera have been used as food:The durian Durio zeberthinus Murr. isa very odorous fruit and is claimed to have great rejuven- ating powers (Hutchinson, 1967): the young fruits and roasted seeds of Ceiba aesculifolia (HBK.) Britt. and Baker. the seeds of Pachira macrocarpa (Schlecht. and Cham.) Walp. (Standley, birthday. “Associate in Phytochemistry, Botanical Museum, Harvard Univ ersity, Cambridge. Mas- sachusetts: Professor of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Profes- sions, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. ‘Present address: Northern Regional Research Center, United States Department ot Agriculture, Peoria, Illinois. S| 1930) and the fruits of Quararibea cordata (H.&B.) Garcia- Barriga and Hernandez are eaten (Hodge, 1960). A decoction of the bark and flowers of Bombax ellipticum HBK. is employed as a cough remedy, and the nectar of the flowers is applied to the eyes to relieve inflammation (Standley, 1930). The small stems and twigs of Q. turbinata (Schwartz.) Poiret are used in many parts of the West Indies and Central America as frothing sticks called “molinillos,” and in some areas it and other species of Quararibea are known as “swizzle stick trees”. It is not unlikely that the mucilages present in members of the family account for this use as well as the use as a cough remedy. The Bombacaceae comprise 31 genera and 225 species distrib- uted among six tribes (Hutchinson, 1967). Quararibea is found in the tribe Matisieae along with seven other genera, including Matisia. The latter genus was considered at one time to be syn- onymous with Quararibea by some authors (Fisher, 1919; Garcia- Barriga, 1959; Alverson, 1982); but, because of flower morphol- ogy, the two are considered by others as separate genera (Schultes, 1957). A possible chemotaxonomic distinction lies in the peculiar odor of all parts of the plants of the genus Quarari- bea, the flowers being particularly odorous. The odor can be described as a cross between vanilla and linden flowers; some compare it to the odor of slippery elm bark (Standley, 1930) or fenugreek (Record, 1939). However it may be described, it is completely absent in Matisia and thus represents a distinction between the two genera. The genus Quararibea contains 29 spe- cies, all of which have this odor: It is so persistent that a specimen collected in 1841 was found still to possess this noticeable aro- matic character (Schultes, 1957). There were, then, several reasons to undertake the complete phytochemical investigation of the flowers of Quararibea fune- bris which is summarized here; experimental details will be pub- lished elsewhere. The milled flowers were extracted first with hexane, then with 95% ethanol. Traditional solvent partition and chromatographic methods were used to separate these extracts into several frac- tions which were examined individually. The neutral hexane- soluble constituents were unremarkable: a mixture of waxy 152 hydrocarbons (predominantly C,,, C,, and C,, alkanes), the ethyl esters of linoleic and linolenic acids, and a mixture of C5 -C;,, sterols (chiefly B-sitosterol) esterified with C,, and C,, fatty acids were obtained. A neutral chloroform fraction yielded, in addition to small amounts of the above compounds, some free fatty acids and the glucosides and glucoside palmitic/ oleic acid esters of B-sitosterol and stigmasterol—all known compounds. It was in the alcohol extract that the interesting chemistry of the plant was revealed. Concentration, partition between aqueous and organic phases at selected pH values, followed by chromato- graphic separation and crystallization, yielded several com- pounds. The odor principle was identified as 3-hydroxy-4,5- dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone (IV): the first report of this compound ina plant. It had been recognized previously as a constituent of aged sake formed during the aging process rather than as a constituent of sake itself (Takahashi, 1976); and as a constituent of sugar cane molasses (Tokimoto, 1980). It had been synthesized even earlier in a study of food flavorings (Sulser, 1972) and was found to have one of the lowest threshold values known for food flavoring compounds, perceivable in concentrations as low as 0.01 ppb. It is also attractive to cockroaches, houseflies and ants, and has been described as having the flavor of walnuts. A structu- rally similar ketone, 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone, has been reported from pineapple, contributing a “burnt pineap- ple” note to the overall flavor of the fruit (Rodin, 1965). Two closely related aminolactones, 3-amino-4,5-dimethyl- 2(5H)-furanone (III) and its saturated analog (II) were also iso- lated from the flowers and, to our knowledge, are likewise new to the plant kingdom. The presence in Q.funebris of these lactones is of more than passing interest in view of a recent publication on the anticonvulsant activity and potential clinical usefulness of a group of alkyl-substituted butyrolactones (Klunk, 1982) structu- rally related to them. It is not unlikely that some of the folk- medical use of the flowers is referable to these compounds. Further, the hypothermic and behavioral effects reported for y-hydroxybutyric acid itself (Snead, 1978) suggest that the utili- zation of Q. funebris preparations as antipyretics and possibly as an hallucinogen may not be at all unreasonable. Pharmacological 153 studies designed to test these hypotheses are planned. Also pres- ent, albeit in very small amounts, was an alkaloid of a new structural type which we had named “funebrine” (V) and which represents the first alkaloid to be recorded in the Bombacaceae. It was accompanied by at least two other polar alkaloidal com- pounds in quantities too small to permit characterization at the present time. Finally, the isolation of a novel amino acid, 28,3S,4R-4- hydroxyisoleucine (1) in substantial amounts allowed us to pro- pose a biogenetic scheme for the synthesis by the plant of the above compounds as shown in the accompanying figure. The novelty of this amino acid lies in the fact that it appears to be a diasteriomer new in nature; its epimer, 2S,3R,4R-4-hydroxyi- soleucine, had been isolated from fenugreek seed (Fowden, 1973) and was found to bea component of a-amanitin (Wieland, 1968). The fact that I could be converted readily to II was of obvious help in defining the geometry of the other compounds in the series. Among the non-nitrogenous constituents of the remaining aqueous fractions of the ethanolic extract were rather large quan- tities of glucose, fructose and sucrose. This leads to the suggestion that the flowers served the additional purpose of sweenening the Zapotec chocolate drinks, inasmuch as sugar cane was not known inthe New World until after the Conquest. A small amount of a complex mixture of flavonoids was also present, but no individ- ual compounds were identified. During the course of the study, a small sample of Quararibea turbinata leaves became available to us. The chemical profile of these was very similar to that of the Q. funebris flowers; com- pounds I, Il and III were identified, the presence of alkaloids was established and compound IV, though not yet isolated and identi- fied, is suspected to be present by reason of the familiar odor of the extracts. We have recently acquired several other species of the Quararibea/ Matisia complex and will be interested to learn whether any one or all of these compounds will serve to distin- guish the genera in this portion of the Bombacaceae of whether, indeed, they are characteristic of the family. 154 H~ aaa a . ys 9 =o > =o Oo Oo (c) asoong f AL III i tH OH °H "HN H “HN H Q ‘KO a) =O <«— =0 <«— 9 =o 155 In any event, virtually all of the substances isolated and charac- terized in this study are new to the genus Quararibea and to the Bombacaceae, and some of them are new to the plant kingdom itself. Inasmuch as the y-butyrolactones can act as convulsants and anticonvulsants, and since Q. funebris flowers are used medicinally as a sort of anti-anxiety folk remedy—a common side effect of all anticonsulvant drugs is sedation—it seems reasonable to suggest that the lactones isolated in this study may act in a similar way, corroborating once again the wisdom of the early meso-American peoples in their use of biodynamic plants. We are indebted to Dr. R. Gordon Wasson and Prof. Richard Evans Schultes for making available bulk samples of the flowers of Quararibea funebris: representative material of both collec- tions have been deposited as voucher specimens in the Botanical Museum of Harvard University. Dr. José Luis Vivaldi, Depart- ment of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has helped us in collecting and identifying the leaves of Q. turbinata. To Dr. Schultes we are grateful for his sustained interest in our research. The voucher specimen on which the final chemical studies were made consisted of dried flowers purchased in the marketplace in Oaxaca, Mexico. Samples have been deposited in the Economic Products Collection in the Botanical Museum of Harvard Uni- versity. The material was collected by R.E. Schultes s.n. in August, 1981. LITERATURE CITED Alverson, B. 1982. Personal Communication. Bohannen, M. B. and Kleiman, R. 1978. Lipids 13(4): 270-273. Fowden, L. et a/. 1973. Phytochem. 12: 1707-1711. Garcia-Barriga, H. 1959. Mutisia 2:1. Gibbs, R. D. 1974. Chemotaxonomy of Flowering Plants, Vols. 11, U1. Hegnauer, R. 1964. Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen 3: 284-288. Hodge, W. H. 1960. Econ. Bot. 14(3): 203-206. Hutchinson, J. The Genera of Flowering Plants Vol. 1: 522-531. Klunk, W. E. 1982. Science 217: 1040-1042 Morris, L. J. and Hall,S.W. 1967. Chemistry and Industry, Jan. 7, 32-34. Record, S.J. 1939. Trop. Woods 59: 19. Rodin, J.O. etal. 1965. J. Food Science 30: 280-285. 156 Rosengarten, F. 1977. Bot. Mus. Leaflets, Harvard University doe ee 184-215. Schultes, R. E. 1957. ibid. 17 (9): 247-264. Snead, O.C. 1978. Neurology, July, 636-641. Standley, P.C. 1930. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. 3: part 3, 354. Sulser, H. er a/. 1972. Zeit. Lebensm. Untersuch.-Forsch. 148: 215-220. Takahashi, K. et a/. 1976. Agr. Biol. Chem. 40 (2):325-330. Tokimoto, Y. er a/. 1980. Proc. Japan Acad. 56, Ser. B (7): 457-462. Vischer, W. 1919. Bull. Soc. Bot. Geneve, Ser. 2: 11. Wasson, R.G. 1982. Personal Communication. Wieland, T. er a/. 1968. Ann. Chem. 717: 205. 157 PLATE 19 —— QUARARIBEA _funebris (Llave) Vischerg Kye we SP .) 158 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS HARVARD UNIVERSITY ._, j r / CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS SUMMER 1983 VoL. No. 3 J vA L THE ETHNOBOTANY OF THE WAORANI OF EASTERN ECUADOR E. WADE DAVIS AND JAMES A. Yost* Because of their intimate knowledge of plants, indigenous peo- ples of the Amazon have long had anessential role in the scientific search for new natural products. Today, with the tropical rain forest being destroyed at an alarming rate, and with the indigen- ous groups themselves facing acculturation or extinction, the modern world stands to lose a wealth of knowledge of unknown potential. The need for thorough ethnobotanical surveys is urgent. This paper presents the results of such a basic study conducted among the Waorani, one of the most recently con- tacted and vulnerable indigenous groups in South America. The Waorani are a small group of 660 Indians whose tradi- tional homeland covers some 8000 square miles of tropical wet forest south of the Rio Napo and north of the Rio Curaray between 76° W and 77°30’W in eastern Ecuador. Generations of hostility between the Waorani and all outside groups have main- tained these borders. The Waorani refer to outsiders as cowode *Summer Institute of Linguistics Dallas, Texas Botanical Museum Leaflets (ISSN 0006-8098). Published quarterly by the Botanical Museum, Har- vard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Subscription: $40.00 a year. net postpaid. Orders should be directed to Secretary of Publications at the above address. Second-Class Postage Paid at Boston, Massachusetts. Published December 28, 1983. and traditionally considered them cannibals, while most Ecuado- rians know the Waorani as “Auca™, a Quichua word meaning “savage.” Mutual fear and contempt persisted for years and was characterized by killings on both sides, the most famous of which was the “Palm Beach Massacre” of five missionaries in 1956 (New York Times, Jan. 13, 1956). The first sustained peaceful contact did not occur until 1958 (Yost 1981b, Wallis, 1973). Ethnohistori- cal and linguistic data indicate that the Waorani have been isolated from even surrounding indigenous groups for many gen- erations. To date, no linguistic congeners have been found and at the time of contact only two loan words could be identified in the Waorani language (Peeke, 1973). Waorani social structure and settlement pattern contributed to their protracted isolation, Acephalous and highly egalitarian, Waorani political and social life are based on the kindred, a complex network of extended kin ties. The traditional Waorani settlement consisted usually of one or two long houses occupied by an extended family spanning three to four generations. Fre- quently, several other similar settlements closely related to the first settlement would be located within a half hour walk; this “neighborhood cluster” of several related settlements composed the community with which an individual identified throughout his life. Halfa dozen such neighborhood clusters were distributed over a vast tract of rain forest isolated from one another by distance and fear. Never certain of exactly where the other com- munities were, the Waorani simply designated them as “upriver Waorani”, “downriver Waorani,” or “overland Waorani™. This isolation within the territory reinforced a deep suspicion and hostility among the various Waorani groups, thereby functioning as both cause and effect of considerable intra-tribal warfare. Spearing raids were a constant feature of Waorani life and accounted for an astonishing 54% of male and 39% of female mortality. The perpetual blood feuds made the Waorani particu- larly adept in the forest; in the aftermath of the spearing raids, individuals were frequently forced to subsist for weeks on raw forest products alone. Internal threats, however, were not the sole source influencing Waorani behavior and their dependence on the forest. The fear of 160 ly AINO ILagNsV ION OAZAN FE eae ee w~? Jez: Fag fT ariiat of Tinodwayno ® “ALIS NOILO@TIOO SHL ‘OGYMINO JO NOIIWOOT nH mngy08,/ GHL ONY (WHaW GSHOLVH) GLWYOLOGLONd + HL SMOHS LHSNI ‘*YOdvNDd NI Sdnow VAQJ3S -YNOIS tv4dOD * OLIN OINHIA ONIGNNOWNS CNY AYOLREL INVYOWM 'TWNOILICVEL JO dwW - T ‘bt SVO1WHIWS 3 16] outsiders. or cowode, was a significant factor influencing the Waorani to settle on hillsides in the hinterland and deliberately to avoid all major rivers, which they considered the domain of cowode, such as the surrounding Lowland Quichua. As a result, the Waorani did not swim or use canoes, and their fishing was limited to the small feeder streams of the interfluvial forest. They considered the common Amazonian sources of protein, such as large catfish, water fowl and turtle eggs, to be taboo, and ate only a few of the fifty or more species of fish and numerous aquatic animals available to them. Although they maintain garden plots and derived a considerable amount of their carbohydrate intake from them, there is some evidence that agriculture came late (Yost, 198la). Today, the Waorani still consider themselves peo- ple of the forest and derive most of their protein and virtually all of their minerals and vitamins from it. Given the Waorani identification with the forest, both psycho- logically and cosmologically, and given their dependence upon the forest for much of their diet, it is not surprising that the Waorani are exceptionally skilled ecologists. The sophistication of their interpretation of biological relationships is demonstrated in their recognition and understanding of such conceptually complex phenomena as pollination and dispersal and in their understanding of the interdependence of animal and plant cycles, which enables them accurately to predict animal behavior. They anticipate the flowering and fruiting cycles of edible forest plants and know not only what species most forest animals prefer to feed on, but what part of the plant and in what stage of development they prefer it. This intimate knowledge of the forest ecology, together with their long isolation as a people, make the Waoranian ideal group for ethnobotanical investigation. Based on interviews with the Waorani and on nine years of experience with them, we estimate that we have collected approximately 80% of the plants known to be used by the Waorani. Our data show a surprising dearth of medicinal plants (cf. Davis and Yost, in press), a peculiar use of hallucinogens and a particularly high utilization of wild foods. Biomedical studies done at the time of contact or shortly there- after describe a remarkably healthy people with very minimal problems with epidemic disease, internal parasites or bacterial 162 infections (Larrick er a/. 1979; Kaplan er a/. 1980). The Waorani were afflicted by external parasites, fungal infections, poor denti- tion and undefined fevers as well as one of the highest rates of snakebite in the world (Theakston er a/. 1981; Larrick Larrick er al. 1978). For each of these conditions, the Waorani had herbal remedies, but it is particularly noteworthy that almost the entire Waorani pharmacopoeia treats only the few endemic afflictions readily identified by extensive biomedical studies. Only 35 of the plants that we collected are used medicinally, and, of these, 30 are employed to treat no more than six conditions: fungal infections, snakebite, dental problems, fevers, tropical warble fly larvae (Dermatobius hominus), and various stings. By comparison, Pinkley collected 57 medicinal plants from the neighboring Cofan, and those plants were used to treat 27 different ailments (Pinkley 1973). We have discussed this highly specialized use of medicinal plants and the theoretical implications of Waorani ethnomedical practices elsewhere (Davis and Yost, in press). Throughout the northwest Amazon, hallucinogenic plants are an important feature of religious life. The Waorani use hallucino- gens, but the species employed and the associated ritual are peculiar. The Waorani have two hallucinogens. Banisteriopsis muricata(Cav.) Cuatracasas and anas yet undescribed basidioli- chen of the genus Dictvonema. The former is morphologically very similar to other commonly used psychoactive species such as ayahuasca, Banisteriopsis Caapi (Spr. ex Griseb.) Morton, but it has never been studied pharmacologically (Garcia-Barriga, 1975). On the other hand, no basidiolichen has yet been reported as an hallucinogen. According to some Waorani, an infusion prepared from the lichen and various mosses caused severe headaches and confusion when ingested and was used by a shaman to send a curse on a person to kill him or her. In comparison with the practices of other Amazonian tribes the Waorani use of hallucin- ogens 1s clearly anomolous. While others imbibe hallucinogens to fulfill the collective needs of the group, the Waorani intoxication may be characterised as aggressive, anti-social and highly indi- vidualistic (Davis and Yost, in press). A final point worth noting concerning Waorani ethnobotany is the extensive use of wild food plants. After a year among the Kofan, Pinkley reported 24 wild foods and 25 cultivated or semi- 163 cultivated dooryard plants, a number of which were commonly introduced species that the Waorani do not grow (Pickley, 1973). The Waorani specimens include no fewer than 44 regularly eaten wild foods and only 19 cultivated or semi-cultivated plants. In the following compilation, the families of vascular plants are arranged according to the Engler and Prantl system; and the genera are arranged alphabetically under the families. The lower plants are in alphabetical order by family. Complete sets of voucher specimens have been deposited at the Economic Herba- rium of Oakes Ames of Harvard University and the herbarium of the Universidad Catolica, Quito, Ecuador. All collections were made by Davis and Yost in the environs of the clearing of Quiwdo, near the confluence of the Rios Quawado and Tiwaeno (77° 14’W, 1°50’S) in eastern Ecuador. The collection numbers are those of E.W. Davis. To aid future investigators, our collecting assistants have been identified by name, sex and sub-dialect. In some instances, once a plant was collected, a variety of informants, representing all of the three major subdialects, were interviewed to verify the plant’s use. As an aid to approximating pronunciation of the vernacular names, we have used a modified phonemic orthography easily followed by the non-linguist. Consonants are pronounced as in Spanish. Vowels are pronounced as follows: “a” pronounced as in English father, “¢” as in cat, “1” as in meat, “e” as in p/n or hit, “o”™ as in hope, shoe or put, and “ng” as in sing or hanger. If a vowel be written twice in succession, itis held fora longer duration. Vowels contiguous to nasal consonants are nasalized. Other vowels may be nasalized as well, but they are not so marked here. For a complete description see Peeke (1973). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The work of E. Wade Davis was generously supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Doctoral Fellowship) and the Interamerican Foundation (Mas- ter’s Fellowship); and James Yost’s work was conducted under the auspices of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. In addition to determinations by E. Wade Davis, we received extensive coopera- 164 tion in plant identification from the following institutions and botanists: L. Landrum, G. Prance, M.J. Balick, S. Mori, R. Callejas, J. Grimes, and R. Bareby of the New York Botanical Garden; T. Plowman, R. Stolze. S. Glassman, M. Nee, C. Niez- goda and P. Matekaitis of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; W.H. Eshbaugh of Miami University: P. Maas and C.C. Berg of the Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht. M. Hale. D. Wasshausen, G.F. Russell, J. Wurdack, S. Smith and, J. Zarucchi of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington; A. Gentry of the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louisand D. Austin of Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida. We would especially like to thank Timothy Plowman and Miss Penny Matekaitis for their assistance with the speci- mens and Mr. Mark Plotkin and Prof. R.E. Schultes of the Botanical Museum, Harvard University, for reviewing the manu- script. In Ecuador, we received the full cooperation of Dr. Lauritz Holm-Nielsen and the herbarium staff of the Universidad Cato- lica, the herbarium staff of the University Central, and Ing. Carlos Aguirre, the Director General de Desarrollo Forestal of the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia. We would especially like to thank the staff and field personnel of the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Ecuador who offered complete support at every phase of the project. Without their logistical assistance and aca- demic advice, this project could not have been completed. Our particular thanks go to Mr. David Underwood in Quito and to Mrs. Kathie Yost, whose cooperation was directly responsible for the success of this project. TABLE | List of Waorani Useful Plants PLANTS Usep As TECHNOLOGY Bambusa sp. Gramineae Oona Setaria vulpiseta Gramineae Gage Undetermined Gramineae Yéemingo Astrocaryum Chambira Palmae Oopog¢ncaweé 165 Bactris sp. Bactris Gasipaes Geonoma sp. Geonoma sp. Geonoma sp. Jessenia Bataua Maximiliana Maripa Socratea exorrhiza Wettinia guinaria Undetermined Undetermined Undetermined Cyclanthus sp. Heteropsis sp. Calathea Standieyi Ischnosiphon obliquus Selenipedium sp. Ficus maxima Minquartia guianensis Perebea guianensis Curarea tecunarum Enterolobium sp. Lonchocarpus Nicou var. Urucu Undetermined Picramnia Spruceana Picramnia sp. Gossypium barbadense Ceiba pentandra Souroubea sp. Vismia sp. Tovomita sp. Bixa Orellana Carpotroche longifolia Calyptranthes plicata Clavija sp. Brunfelsia grandiflora ssp. Schultesil Crescentia Cujete Ruellia colerata Alibertia cf. edulis Simira sp. Clibadium asperum Minquartia guianensis Undetermined Undetermined Undetermined Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Cyclanthaceae Araceae Maranthaceae Maranthaceae Orchidaceae Moraceae Bignoniaceae Moraceae Menispermaceae Leguminosae Leguminosae Leguminosae Simaroubaceae Simaroubaceae Malvaceae Bombacaceae Marcgraviaceae Guttiferae Guttiferae Bixaceae Flacourticea Myrtaceae Theophrastaceae Solanaceae Bignoniaceae Acanthaceae Rubiaceae Rubiaceae Compositae Olacaceae 166 lica Tewe Mo Tedefhlowencabo Oomaweée Petowe Oompa Y¢edemo Cavyeweb¢we Tepa Giyicabemo Omacabo Wino Otome Ovyoncabo Gayaquewencagl Menegagowe Corotamo Cobacadewe Bataca Oonta Compago Méneco Acowé¢ Degintai gipéni Degintal gipenil Dayo Bobewe Oonta Gacamen¢weé Gingamonca Caca Nonginca Cowadewé Namontaqul Winemécawe Owewe Ewemoya Owecawe Wepeta Coonel Cobacadewe¢ Anaweénta Omeogo Winca CULTIVATED PLANTS Zea Mays Dioscorea trifida Musa paradisiaca Arachis hypogaea Lonchocarpus Nicou var. languidus Pachyrhizus angulatus Manihot escuelenta Gossypium barbadense Bixa Orellana Carica Papaya Ipoemoea Batatas Capsicum chinense Capsicum sp. Physalis angulata Solanum sessiliflorum Crescentia Cujete Clibadium asperum WILD Foops Auricularia fuscosuccinea Astrocaryum Chambira Bactris sp. Bactris Gasipaes Jesseniap Bataua Maximiliana Maripa Socratea exorrhiza Phytelephas macrocarpa Undetermined Heteropsis sp. Costus erythrocoryne Costus scaber Dimerocostus strobilaceus ssp. strobilaceus Cecropia sciadophylla Dialium guianensis Inga sp. Inga sp. Protium sp. Hiraea sp. nov. Tapura amazonica Herrania nitida Theobroma sp. Undetermined Marcgravia sp. Graminae Dioscoreaceae Musaceae Leguminosae Leguminosae Leguminosae Fuphorbiaceae Malvaceae Bixaceae Caricaeae Convolvulaceae Solanaceae Solanaceae Solanaceae Solanaceae Bignoniaceae Compositae Auriculariaceae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Palmae Araceae Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae Moraceae Leguminosae Leguminosae Leguminosae Burseraceae Malpighiaceae Dichapetalaceae Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae Sterculiaceae Marcgraviaceae 167 Cagingo Cowango Peene Coromo Compago Capamo Ouewe Dayo Caca Awanca Acageé Giumo Giimo Cowanhe moncamo Daboca Owewe Coonel Neénéndapé Oopogéncawé lica Tewe Petow¢ Oompa Yedemo Wamowe Omacabo Otome Gonéquemo Odé¢ngimoncagi Neénénquemo Mangim¢o Dicademo Iwa ao Ewemao, wenem¢ngo Wingitagé Dowemenel Awéncatomo Bognica Mééeca, Bogiw¢ Namontaque WILD Foops cont'd. Rheedia Spruceana Leonia glycycarpa Casearis sp. fasciculata Casearia prunitolia Mayna odorata Begonia sp. Gustavia longifolia Grias Neuberthii Calyptranthes plicata Loreya collatata Undetermined Undetermined Undetermined Solanum pectinatum Coussarea brevicaulis Pentagonia parvifolia Cavaponia Ruizii Undetermined Undetermined Undetermined HALLUCINOGENS Dictyonema sp. nov. Banisteriopsis muricata Bryophyta misc. genera MEDICINES Guttiferae Violaceae Flacourtiaceae Flacourtiaceae Flacourtiaceae Begoniaceae Leevthidaceae | ecyvthidaceae Myrtaceae Melastomataceae Melastomataceae Sapotaceae Apocynaceae Solanaceae Rubiaceae Rubiaceae Cucurbitaceae Dictyonemataceae Malpighiaceae Contaca Yemenca Yepenemoncawe Yepeneémoncawe Bogimoncamo Omencat Nonginca Wingaca Cowadewe Titemeneca Ewengit Oopowe Wepemonca Daboca Omancomo Boyomo Cagiwenca Contaca Titequewe Tanhemo Neéenéndape Mii Kigiwal Plants used for fungal infections and/or scabies and mite infestations Iryvanthera cf. elliptica Iryvanthera juruensis Iryvanthera cf. paraensis Otoba parvifolia Virola calophylla Enterolobium sp. Undetermined Calycophyllum acreanum Curarea tecunarum Undetermined Myristicaceae Myristicaceae Myristicaceae Myristicaceae Myristicaceae Leguminosae Leguminosae Rubiaceae Menispermaceae Plants used for warble fly (Dermatobius hominus) Undetermined Hevea guianensis Undetermined Plants used for tooth decay Sphaeropteris sp. Piper augustum Araceae Euphorbiaceae Apocynaceae Cyathaceae Piperaceae 168 Awamoncaweé Wingimoncawe Wecaiwé Ayvepewe Tegidewe Cenimowe Acoweé Ooyowe Oonta Dab¢taweé Cowéntobecagi Noogow¢ Cén¢iwe Toyoba Némpocao Piper conejosense Undetermined Plants used for various stings and bites—Scorpion, Spider, Piperaceae Yacabe¢ Ménetad¢ Insect, Stingray Solanum pectinatum Solanaceae Daboca Solanum sessiliflorum Solanaceae Daboca Pentagonia spathicalyx Rubiaceae Boyomo Plants used for Snakebite Philodendron sp. Araceae Cayatamo Renealmia Asplund Zingiberaceae Teetémo Renealmia thyrsoidea Zingiberaceae Teénteécagi Renealmia sp. Zingiberaceae Teentéebo Urera baccifera Urticaceae Wento All Other Medicinal Plants Jessenia Bataua Palmae Petoweé Maximiliana aff. maripa Palmae Oompa Urera baccifera Urticaceae Wento Guatteria cf. Schunkeyigol Annonaceae Menedowe Siparuna sp. Monimiaceae Nonangonca Begonia sp. Begoniaceae Ormencai Capsicum chinense Solanaceae Giimo Capsicum sp. Solanaceae Giimo Mansoa Standley Bignoniaceae Wiyagel Duroia hirsuta Rubiaceae Oweécawe AURICULARIACEAE Auricularia cf. fuscosuccinea (Montague) Farl., Bibliogr. Index (1905) 307. Collect.: Davis and Yost 932. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. nénéndapé This gelatinous fungus grows commonly on fallen logs in the forest and in the open swidden agricultural clearings. Today, some Waorani roast the fungus over an open fire and eat it with salt, a practice that they have learned in recent years from the neighboring Quichua. Many indigenous groups in the Amazon eat this fungus. The Bora of the Rio Ampiyacu in Peru boil the fungus and eat it with cassava (Manihot escuelenta) and hot sauce (Capsicum sp.). 169 DICTYONEMATACEAE Dictoyonema sp. Collect.: Davis and Yost 1051. Waorani Informant: Tomo & Cénto (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. nénéndapé¢ This conspicuous genus of a lichenized basidiomycete is extremely rare in Waorani territory. What has been considered a new species by a leading lichenologist, this peculiar plant, grow- ing on rotten wood, has a white hymenial layer and a bright green/ blue upper surface (M. Hale pers. comm.). The Waorani name nénéndap¢ is a name applied to many fungi, but informants suggest that this one was once used in shamanistic ritual. It was last employed some four generations ago—approximately 80 years— when “bad shamansate it to send a curse to cause other Waorani to die.” The drug was prepared as an infusion with various species of Bryophyta, and caused severe headaches and confusion when drunk. When adequate supplies are available, this plant should be tested for hallucinogenic prop- erties. This is the first report of a potentially hallucinogenic basidiolichen. It is also reported to cause sterility and to be put into a child’s drink to cause barrenness. At the moment, it is unclear whether this is a post-hoc explanation of why some women are sterile or whether it indicates active chemical constituents. Although no peculiar lichen acids have been reported, the genus is very poorly known and warrants phytochemical investigation. Cy ATHACEAE Sphaeropteris sp. Collect.: Davis and Yost 964. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. tovoba This species, a common tree fern that attains a height of four meters in the primary forest, is used to soothe toothache. The Waorani collect the sap and keep it fora day until it oxidizes and thickens; they then apply it directly to exposed nerves as an anesthetic. 170 GRAMINEAE Bambusa sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1027. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. oona This bamboo grows to a height of ten meters both on low river flats and the slopes of steep clay hills. The internode length makes it ideal for dart holders and flutes. Pieces of the stem provide improvised knives. Setaria vulpiseta (Lam.) R. et S., Syst. 2 (1817) 495. Collect.: Davis & Yost 947. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. gage This common grass grows to a height of 2.5 meters in open sunlight around clearings and house sites. The inflorescence serves as a paint brush to decorate the body with winca (possibly Genipa sp.) and caca (Bixa Orellana). Zea Mays L., Sp. PI. (1753) 971. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. n.V. cagingo Maize, although a relatively minor food crop of the Waorani, is important because it is the first cultigen to be ready to harvest ina new garden. Informants from the more isolated regions claim that in past generations maize held a far more significant role than any other food crop, but this changed when plantains became successful. Undetermined specimen of Gramineae Collect.: Davis & Yost 946. Waorani Informant: Geque(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ypémingo This unidentified bambusoid grass grows commonly in the primary rain forest. The flowers are conspicuous with dangling bright yellow anthers. The Waorani carefully split the new shoots vertically and use the exposed edges as a knife to cut the umbilical cord of a newborn infant or as an improvised knife to butcher an animal killed in the forest. 171 PALMAE Astrocaryum Chambira Burret in Fedde, Repert. 35. (1934) 152. Collect.: Davis & Yost 978. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. oopo- géncaw¢ A common tree of the primary rain forest, the chambira palm is a plant that the Waorani rely on heavily fora variety of uses. Both the immature and mature fruits are eaten, and the apical leaf shoots provide an important fibre which is rolled into twine for hammocks, fishnets, carrying bags and necklaces. Since the Wao- rani often cut down mature trees to gather the fibre, and since a single large hammock may require as many as twenty trees, this tree is one of the resources that may become scarce if a village remains in one area for a long time. The Waorani have various names for the chambira palm, depending upon its stage of development. Seedlings are called oon¢goncagi, saplings from 2-7 meters are oonémpa and, once the trunk emerges, the plant receives its mature name oopog¢caw¢. Although the Waorani do not recognize any medicinal proper- ties in Astrocaryum Chambira, certain other species of Astroca- ryum are used medicinally elsewhere. Astrocaryum Ayri Mart. has a “green fruit that holds 10 grams of a potable liquid which has medicinal properties. It is used as a laxative and against jaundice. When the fruit is ripe, the liquid is transformed into a fleshy mass which contains 18% of the oil known as oleo de ayry. When the substance is dried, it is reputedly used as a “taenifuge” (Pio Correa 1926). In Brazil, the fruits of A. Chambira are used to treat erysipelas (Usher 1974), and the fruit pulp is said to be antihelminthic (Pereira 1929). Bactris sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 977. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. jica A common forest tree that grows to 10 meters high, this species has long leaves with extremely thorny leaf bases. The leaves are commonly used for thatch, and the fruit is eaten. 172 Although the Waorani do not use this plant medicinally, var- ious species of Bactris are said to have medicinal properties. In Colombia, the fruits of Bactris minor Jacq. are employed in a decoction as an antihelminthic and laxative. They are also used to treat snakebite (Garcia-Barriga 1974). In Guyana, a decoction of the heart of Bactris oligoclada Burret is valued in treating bron- chitis (Fanshawe 1950). Bactris Gasipaes HBK., Nov. Gen. et Sp. 1 (1815) 302. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. n.v. tew¢ Such is the importance of this semi-cultivated palm that the Waorani “new year” (dag¢nca ted¢) is marked by the end of its fruiting cycle. “Chonta” season runs from November to April and is divided into six periods: blossoms falling down; fruits starting to form; fruits starting to ripen; fruits all ripe; fruits nearly gone; fruits all gone. While the fruits (dagénca) provide an important source of carbohydrate and vitamins, the extremely hard wood (fepa) is used to make spears, blowguns and various utensils. Because of its durability, it is also a favorite source material for roof supports and other construction purposes. Geonoma sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. mo This low palm grows 1.2 meters tall in the primary forest and provides the traditional Waorani thatch. The leaves, which are applied in three layers onan A-framed longhouse, are not particu- larly durable, lasting at the most one year. In recent years, the Waorani have turned to other more durable palms, largely in imitation of their lowland Quichua neighbours. Geonoma sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 960 Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ted- enowéncabo 173 This medium-sized (3 m.) palm of the primary forest supplies leaves for wrapping food; the seeds provide material for beads. Geonoma sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1015 Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. oomaw¢ This palm is a 4-meter treelet of the primary rain forest. It is used to improvise hunting and war spears. Before the arrival of metal tools that could cut chonta ( Bactris Gasipaes), spears were fashioned from this palm exclusively. Jessenia Bataua ( Mart.) Burr. in Notzbl. 10 (1928) 300. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1004. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. petow¢ This palm which is a common tree (30 m. tall) of the primary forest is one of the most important Waorani plants. The leaves provide thatch; the fibrous leaf bases are broken up and used to clean the bore of blowguns, to start fires and to make flares; the fruit, if boiled, turns very hard, but upon gentle warming, pro- vides a delicious, oily paste; the adventitious roots are employed medicinally to treat worms, diarrhea, headaches and stomach ailments. As with most of the palms, the Waorani used derived terms to refer to the various plant parts. The fruits are petomo, the leaves petoba, the fibrous leaf bases petocoo and the adventitious roots peto. The mature tree is known as petowé. In Colombia, this species is an important medicine. In the eastern llanos, the oil of the fruit has been used for forty years to treat tuberculosis and other pulmonary ailments. It is also esteemed in treating bronchial problems and colds and may be taken orally or injected (Garcia-Barriga 1974, Perez Arbelaez 1956). In the Darien, Panama, the oil is considered an anodyne (Duke 1968). Maximiliana aff. Maripa (Correa) Drude in Martius, Fl. Bras. 3, pt. 2 (1882) 452. Collect.: Davis & Yost 963. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. oompa 174 An enormous tree attaining a height of 50 m. in the primary forest, this tree is very important for the Waorani. The petiole is split and cut into short lengths for making darts for blowguns. The fruits are eaten as food and used inan infusion to treat colds. Again, the Waorani refer to the various stages of growth by separate terms. The seeds are called gaibamo, and larger saplings are called nampacagi, until the plant reaches maturity. Once it has born fruit, the tree is called oompa. Phytelephas macrocarpa Ruiz et Pav. in Syst. Veg. 301 (1798). Collect.: Davis & Yost 997. Waorani Informant: Nang¢. Upriver dialect: n.v. wamow¢ This palm, called ragua in Spanish, isa medium sized tree (8 m.) growing on disturbed ridgetops, or along the river banks throughout Waorani territory. It has a brown, woody basal fruit (wamomo) with a delicious white, fleshy pulp much esteemed by the Indians. The stem (wamoncagi) is for crowns and improvised darts, the leaf (wamontra) for baskets, and the fibre (wamongi) for brooms, torches, fire starters or blowgun bore-cleaner. The fruits contain from six to nine seeds witha thin brown layer on the outside and a very hard endosperm which is the source of vegetable ivory. At one time Ecuador was the chief exporting nation of this commodity and many indigenous tribes were involved in the collection of the seeds. The Waorani were not affected by the vegetable ivory trade and did not participate. Socratea exorrhiza H. Wendl. in Bonplandia, 8 (1856) 264. Collect.: Davis & Yost 948. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect n.v. »édemo This extremely hard forest tree of 30 m. has a conspicuous, edible, yellow fruit. The Waorani use the hard wood to make peccary spears. Wettinia cf. guinaria (Cook et Doyle) Burr. in Notizbl. 10 (1930) 941. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1049. Waorani Informant: Tomo & Cénto (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. cayewebéwe¢ 175 This medium-sized tree (15 m.) of the primary forest is charac- terized by brown urticating hairs on the fruit. The wood 1s used for spears and blowguns when no chonta (Bactris Gasipaes) 1s available. The leaves provide emergency thatch. Undetermined specimen of Palmae Collect.: Davis & Yost 949. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. givi- cabémo A small palm that attains 4 m. inthe primary forest, this treelet has small, hard, black fruits which are shot through blowguns to kill small birds. Undetermined specimen of Palmae Collect.: Davis & Yost 1016. Waorani Informant: Geque(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. omacabo The leaves of this 6 m. palm are especially resistant to rot and, consequently, are highly prized as thatch. The fruits are edible. Undetermined specimen of Palmae Collect.: Davis & Yost 929. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. tepa This large 20 m. tree grows in the primary rain forest; the wood is employed for blowguns. The Waorani also use the various species of chonta (Bactris Gasipaes and TIriartea sp.) to make blowguns. Two matching sections of wood 3 meters long by 3 centimeters thick are longi- tudinally grooved and bound together so that the grooves form a l-centimeter bore the length of the blowgun. The two pieces are wrapped with a vine (Heteropsis sp.) and sealed with beeswax. The bore is then enlarged and polished with fine sand and water as an abrasive. The result is a surprisingly straight, highly polished bore. Compared to other Amazonian blowguns, these are rather heavy but very efficient. 176 CYCLANTHACEAE Cyclanthus sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 965. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wino In past generations, the men folded the leaves of this small unidentified plant of the primary forest floor to fashion a long penis sheath, while the women hung a flap of the leaf over a G-string; but by the time of contact, this practice had died out. ARACEAE Heteropsis sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 951. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ofome The bark of this liana is used to bind the two halves of a blowgun, to make baskets and to lash together beams for house construction. It is the strongest liana of the forest and holds its shape for a long time. The Waorani name ofome means ‘basket vine’. The Waorani eat the yellow fruit and recognize that animals and birds such as woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha), tou- cans (Ramphastos cuvieri) and oropendolas (Zarhunchus wag- leri) also frequently feed on it. Philodendron sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1023. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ome The root and the stem of this liana are crushed in hot water, and the decoction is drunk two or three times daily by victims of cavatamo (Bothrops castelnaudi) bite, one of eight venomous snakes found in Waorani territory. Other authors have suggested that several species of Philoden- dron in the northwest Amazon have pharmacologically active principles. The leaves and petioles of Philodendron craspedo- dromum R.E. Schultes provide a piscicide among the Desana Indians of the Rio Papuri, Colombia: the leaves are cut, tied into 177 a bundle and left to ferment for two days before being crushed and thrown into the water to stun fish (Schultes in prep.). The Kubeos and other tribes of the Vaupes in Colombia use the pulverized and dried inflorescences of Philodendron dyscarpium R.E. Schultes as a contraceptive: the powder is added to the food of the women (Schultes in prep.). Undetermined specimen of Araceae. Collect.: Davis & Yost 962. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. co- wéntobécagi This unidentified climbing epiphyte of the primary forest has a conspicuous red spadix and a compound leaf with ten segments. The aroid is used to treat warble fly infestations (Dermatobius hominus) by rubbing the sap from the fruit over the infected spot to draw out the larva. Because the palmate leaf is said to resemble that of yuca (Manihot esculenta), the plant is ritually brushed over children so that they will grow up able to raise ample supplies of yuca. DIOSCOREACEAE Dioscorea trifida L., Suppl. Plant Syst. Veg. (1781) 427. Collect.: Davis & Yost 992. Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. comango The Waorani cultivate this liana for its edible tuber by propa- gating it vegetatively with pieces of the tuber. It is commonly planted around house sites or along the margin of cultivated plots. MUSACEAE Musa paradisiaca L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 1043. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. n.v. pé¢neé The Waorani widely cultivate plantains, which rank in impor- tance with yuca (Manihot esculenta) and chonta (Bactris Gasi- paes) as a source of carbohydrate. Some Waorani families use it 178 more than other families, depending much on personal prefer- ence. It is boiled when ripe and served as a drink or boiled with meat when yet green. ZINGIBERACEAE Costus erythrocoryne K. Schum. in Engler, Pflanzenr., Zingib. 4:46 (1904) 410. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1029. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. goné- quemo A common herb of river banks and flats, this species is a favorite of Waorani children who suck the spicy water from the mature fruits as a condiment. Adults also suck on it to stave off hunger while traveling through the forest. The Taiwano and Kabuyari Indians of the Amazon of Colom- bia use the powdered leaves as a snuff to staunch persistent nose-bleed (Schultes in prep.). Costus scaber R. et P., Fl. Peru: I, pt. 2 (1798) t.s. Collect: Davis & Yost 940. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. od¢- ngimoncagt Costus scaber, a low herb of the primary forest, is valued as a condiment by the Waorani. The spicy stem is commonly sucked as refreshment. Dimerocostus strobilaceus in O. Kuntze ssp. strobilaceus Maas in Fl. Neotrop., 8 (1972) 22. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1028. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. nénén- quemo The fruits of this 3 m. scandent herb are sucked as refreshment by Waorani children. Renealmia Asplundii Maas in Flora Neotrop. 18 (1977). Collect.: Davis & Yost 933. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. 1¢¢én- temo 179 This low herb of the primary forest is one of the main Waorani snakebite remedies. After the stem is pounded to a pulp and mixed with water, the infusion is drunk once a day to reduce swelling until the patient is cured. It is employed specifically for the jergon or fer-de-lance ( Bothrops atrox), knownas nénénénca. Other species of Renea/mia are reputed to have medicinal properties. In Brazil, the seeds of Renealmia domingensis Horan. are believed to control menstruation. The juice of this plant was apparently used by the Maya to treat hemorrhoids (Usher 1974), The Wai-wai Indians of Guyana boil the entire plant of Renealmia pedicellaris A.C. Smith and bathe in the decoction to reduce fever (Altschul 1973). Renealmia thyrsoidea(R. et P.) P. et E., Nov. Gen. et Sp. 2 (1838) 25. t. 134. Collect.: Davis & Yost 934, 935. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ¢éni¢- cagi The Waorani recognize two varieties of this species: one, known as f¢éni¢mo (D 934), has yellow flowers and bright red bracts; the other, (¢¢ni¢cagi (D 935), has a conspicuous black lip on the corolla and pink bracts. Both forms are valued in treating snakebite by crushing the stem and drinking an infusion once a day to prevent swelling. Renealmia sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1024. Waorani Informant: Cénto(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ¢ént¢bo Like other species of this genus, this low growing herb of the primary forest is esteemed in treating snakebite. The stem is crushed and a hot infusion, drunk once a day, is said to reduce swelling and internal bleeding. M ARANTHACEAE Calathea Standleyi Macbr. in Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser., 11 (1931) 54. 180 Collect.: Davis & Yost 941. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ovon- cabo Because the leaves of this common species are flexible and do not split when bent or rolled, they are used to wrap cooked meat, fish, yuca and other foods. Some species of Ca/athea have been employed as medicine in the northwest Amazon. The Kofan of Ecuador boil the leaves of Calathea roseo-pieta Regel to prepare a medicine for treating mouth sores (Schultes in prep.). Calathea Veitchiana Veitch ex Hooker fil. is often added to Banisteriopsis Caapi (Spr. ex Gris.) Morton in preparing an hallucinogenic drink in the northwest Amazon. Ischnosiphon obliquus (Rudge) Koern. in Nouv. Mem. Soc. Nat. Mosc. I] (1859) 341. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1045. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. gava- quewencagl The Waorani use the stems of this common herb of the season- ally inundated bottomlands as peace spears at festivals. The guests thrust the pliable ‘spear’ into the ground in front of the host, demonstrating their intent to be peaceful during their visit. ORCHIDACEAE Selenipedium sp. Davis & Yost 1048. Woarani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. menega- gow? This terrestrial orchid is said to attain 5 m. in height. The erect hollow stem is utilized as a training blowgun for young Waorani boys. and in an emergency may also be used by adults as an improvised blowgun. 181 PIPERACEAE Piper augustum Rudge, Icon Pe. Gui. (1805) 10. t. 7. Collect.: Davis & Yost 938. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. némpo- CaO The Waorant break the stems of this shrub off and use them as tooth brushes. The ancestors employed this plant to prevent tooth decay and deliberately blacken teeth. Various species of Piper have been reported as medicines in the northwest Amazon. In the Colombian Amazon, a poultice of the leaves of Piper Hostmannianum (Miq.) C. DC.. is applied to warts to hasten their disappearance. The Culina Indians of east- ern Peru prepare a snuff from the dried leaves and roots of Piper interitum Trel. ex Macbride as a tobacco substitute; the essential oils may have psychoactive properties. The Karijonas of the upper Vaupés treat bronchial ailments, including tuberculosis, by preparing a hot tea of the leaves and stems of Piper Schultesti Yunck,. which serves as a strong diuretic. The Kofan of Ecuador crush the aromatic leaves and stems of Piper serpens (Sw.) Lou- dontoapply asa poultice to relieve the sting of the large “conga” ant (Schultes in prep). Piper conojoénse Trel. et Yunck., Piperaceae Northern S. Am. (1950) 46. Collect.: Davis & Yost 939, Waorani Informant: Geque(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. vacabéew The stems of this common shrub are broken off at the nodes and used as tooth brushes by the Waorant. The ancestors are said to have used this plant to turn teeth black, and it was thought to prevent tooth decay. MORACEAE Cecropia sciadophylla Mart. in Flora, 24 (1841) pt. 2. Beibl. 93. Collect.: Davis & Yost 921. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. mangini¢o This common tree. which vields a delicious fruit similar in taste to figs. is a delicacy to the Waorani. Toucans (Ramphastos cuvierl) and piping guans ( Pipile pipile) are said by the Waorani to preter the fruits of this species. Most indigenous groups in the northwest Amazon consider the fruits of Cecropia unpalatable (Schultes. pers. comm.). Many groups burn the leaves of this species to obtain an alkaline admix- ture forcoca chewing. Certain species of Cecropia are used medic- inally inthe Amazon. The juice from the stem of Cecropia peltata I. is used in Brazil to treat dysentery (Usher. 1974). C. rolimensis Schultes et Villarreal has fruits which are taken in Colombia to treat fever (Altschul. 1973). Ficus maxima Miller. Gard. Dict.. ed. & (1768) No. 6. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1040. Waorant Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. corotamo The inner bark is pounded and peeled off as a single tube- shaped piece to make cloth slings for carrying children or storage bags for kapok (Cetha pentandra (1..) Gaertn.). This is one of six reported species that the Waorani use for bark cloth. Perebea guianensis Aubl., Hist. Pl. Gui. Franc. 2 (1775) 953. t. 361. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1009. Waorant Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. bataca The sap of this species is esteemed as hair oil, and the spiny dried fruit serves as a comb or hair brush. URTICACEAE Urera baccifera (L.) Gaud. Freyc., Voy. Bot. (1826) 497. Collect.: Davis & Yost 956. Waorant Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wénto All surfaces of this scandent shrub are covered with urticating hairs. The Waorani utilize the leaves either to punish children or as a means of transferring their own adult strength to the children. In the latter instance, an adult may return from a long hard day in his gardens, gather the village children, and then brush each child with the painful plant to instill in them his own ability to work hard. The Waoranialso use this plant to relieve fainting and all pain, including that from aching muscles, arthritis, pulled muscles, snakebite. stingray and stings of the conga, azteca and fire ants. The roots of Urera haccifera are said in the Colombian Amazon to have antihemorrhagic properties, and an infusion of the leaves alleviates erysipelas (Garcia-Barriga 1974). In Puerto Rico, a decoction of the roots is employed tn treating gonorrhea (Usher 1974). MENISPERMACEAE Curarea tecunarum Barn. et Kruk. in Mem. New York Bot. Gard., 22:2 (1971) 12. Collect.: Davis & Yost 943. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. oonta This species is well recognized as one of the principal sources of an especially strong arrow and dart poison prepared in the northwestern Amazon. It is the most important source of poison for the Waorani, and the preparation of curare from it isa highly esteemed skill. The outer bark of the liana is shaved. shredded and placed ina funnel-shaped leaf compress suspended between two hunting spears. Cold water is then percolated through and the drippings collected ina small ceramic pot. This dark-colored liquid 1s slowly heated over a fire and brought to a frothy boil numerous times until the fluid thickens. It is then cooled and later reheated, untila thin layer of viscous scum gradually forms on the surface. This scum is removed, the dart tips are spun in the viscid fluid and the darts are finally carefully dried by the fire. Curarea tecunarum may have important medicinal properties as well. The Waorani apply the prepared poison directly to skin infections, bacterial or fungal, with proven results. Some Wao- rani have been known to ingest small amounts of the poison to treat stomach-ache and diarrhea. The Deni Indians of Brazil 184 crush the stems and let them soak in water with stirring: the resulting tea 1s drunk as a contraceptive (Schultes 1982). Amazonian arrow-poisons have been the source of several important medicines in our Western pharmacopoeas. The strength of this species as a poison and its reported use as botha contraceptive and an anti-fungal agent strongly suggest the advisability of further phytochemical investigation. ANNONACEAE Guatteria cf. Schunkevigoi Simpson in Phytologia, 30(5) 307 (1975). Collect.: Davis & Yost 1011. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. mienedowé When the bark of this forest tree is crushed and mixed with water, the pulp and water are rubbed over the head and shoulders of febrile individuals to force the “fever to flee.” MyYRISTICACEAE Iryanthera cf. elliptica Ducke in Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 26 (1936) 219. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1020. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. awa- moncaweé The resin of this tree of the primary forest is a recognized antifungal agent. The Waorani remove the inner bark, twist the cambium and apply the resin directly onto infected areas. It is also used to kill mites and scabies. This plant is said to be appreciably stronger than Virola peruviana (A. DC.) Warb. (Davis 1079), Iryanthera juruénsis Warb. ex Pilgerin Verh. Bot. Ver. Brand. 47 (1905) 137. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1014. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wingi- moncaweé This tree of the primary forest attains a height of 50 m. The copious “resin” of the inner bark oxidizes to a brilliant red. The Waorani say that, when applied directly to fungal infections, the 185 resin kills the fungus “just like the dart poison” (Curarea tecun-arum). Iryanthera Ulei Warb. contains 5-Me0-DMT (5-Methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine) in its bark. Among the Bora and Witoto of the Rio Ampiyacu in Peru, /. Uleiand /. macrophylla ( Benth.) Warb. together with several species of the related genus Virola(V. elongata (Benth.) Warb., V. surinamensis (Rol.) Warb., V. lore- tensis A.C. Smith) are the sources of an oral hallucinogen (Holm- stedt et al 1980). Recent fieldwork among the Bora has added V. divergens Ducke, V. calophylla Warb., V. Pavonis(A. DC.) A.C. Smith and /ryanthera longiflora Ducke to the list of hallucino- gens from these two remarkable genera. The Waika of Venezuela also use many species of Viro/a either as hallucinogenic snuffs or as arrow-poisons. The principal species employed by the Waika are V. calophylla Warburg, V. theiodora (Spr. ex Bth.) Warb. and V. calophylloidea Markgraf. Iryanthera cf. paraénsis Hub., in Bol. Mus. Para. (1910) 69. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1005. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. wecaiw¢ The inner bark of this medium-sized tree (15 m) is scraped and pounded and applied directly to fungal infections and infestations of mites. Otoba parvifolia (Mkf.) A. Gentry in Notizbl. 9 (1926) 964. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1008. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. avépéw¢ Although the bark and bright red resin of this bushy plant are crushed and rubbed on the skin as a treatment for the bites of mites and fungus infections, the Waorani say that it is rarely used. Several species in this genus are used throughout the northwest Amazon as an antifungal agents. The Tikuna Indians of Colom- bia call this species sangre toro, and, in the Napo region of Ecuador, it is known in Spanish as sangre gallina. In both areas, the Indians assert that the resin has medicinal properties (Acero Duarte 1979). 186 Virola calophylla Warb. in Nov. Act. Nat. Cur. 68 (1897) 231. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1019. Woarani Informant: C¢nto(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. regidew¢ The inner bark of this forest tree is squeezed and the copious red “resin” is applied to fungal infections, scabies and infestations of mites. The Kubeo and Tucano Indians of the Rio Vaupes employ the fresh bark resin of V. a/bidiflora Ducke to treat skin sores (Schultes in prep.). The “resin” of V. calophyila and V. calophylloidea is processed and snuffed as an hallucinogen by the Kubeo, Puinave, Kuripaco, Barasana, Makuna and Taiwano of the Vaupes of Colombia. The nomadic Maku of the Rio Pirapa- rana ingest the exudate of the inner bark of V. e/ongata (Benth.) Warb. directly, without any of the elaborate preparation prac- ticed by other tribes of the region (Schultes and Hofmann, 1980). In Brazil, the “resin” of V. surinamensis (Rol.) Warb. 1s used to treat erysipelas, and an infusion of the bark is applied as a wash to cleanse wounds (Schultes in prep.). MONIMIACEAE Siparuna sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 923, 1052. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. nonangonca The red fruits of this scandent forest shrub are used by the Waorani to treat fever and headache. When crushed, the leaves and fruits are very pungent and are rubbed directly onto the face and head. LEGUMINOSAE Arachis hypogaea L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 741. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. n.v. coromo The common peanut is one of the traditional cultigens of the Waorani. Dialium guianensis (Aubl.) Sandw. ex A.C. Smith in Lloydia, 2 (1939) 184. 187 Collect.: Davis & Yost 1057. Waoran! Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. dica- demo The fruits of this 70 m. forest tree, either green or ripe, may be eaten dry or, preferably, soaked in water. Enterolobium sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1026. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. cénimow¢ Crushed and dropped directly into small streams, the bark of this tall (60 m.) forest tree serves as a fish poison. A hot decoction of the bark is valued also as a fungicide. Inga sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 976. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. iwa ao The Waorani eat the white flesh surrounding the black seeds of this tall forest tree, which has characteristic brown fruits covered with urticating hairs. Inga sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 953. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downrivr dialect: n.v. @wémao, wenem¢ngo The yellow-green fruits of this tall (40 m.) forest tree may be eaten, but according to the Waorani, if more than five of the seeds are ingested, vomiting occurs. The Waorani recognize the fruit as a preferred food of all monkeys, the scarlet macaw (Ara macao), the mealy parrot (Amazona farinosa), and the dusty-headed parrotlet (Forpus sclateri). Lonchocarpus Nicou (Aubl.) DC. var. languidus F.J. Herm. in Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 37 (1947) I11. Collect.: Davis & Yost 979. Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. com- pago. 188 This was one of the traditional Waorani fish poisons, but it has been largely replaced by Clibadium asperum (Davis 294), (ac- quired from neighbouring lowland Quichua) because it is more effective on the larger streams and rivers where many of the Waorani now live. The Waorani still plant Lonchocarpus Nicou in their chacras, however, and use it in small feeder streams. They pound the root to a pulp and place it directly in the small, slow brooks where the effects are almost immediate. Lonchocarpus Nicou is widely known as barbasco in the northwest Amazon; its root contains 20% rotenone (Usher 1974). Lonchocarpus Nicou (Aubl.) DC. var. Urucu Killip & Smith in Journ. Wash. Acad. Sci. 37 (1947) I11. Collect.: Davis & Yost 968. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. méneco This variety of Lonchocarpus Nicou is also used by the Wao- rani, who semi-cultivate it by planting it throughout the forest. They use it in the same way as they do variety /anguidus, crushing the wood and root and casting them directly into a stream. Pachyrhizus angulatus Rich ex DC., Prodr. 2 402. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. n.v. capamo The Waorani cultivate the yam bean as a snack food to be eaten raw. Undetermined specimen of Leguminosae. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1006. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. acow¢ The bark of this tall (80 m.) forest tree is crushed and employed as a fish poison. An infusion of the bark is also applied to treat fungal infections and infestations of mites and scabies. Since contact, Waorani have washed their clothes in a bath prepared with this bark to eliminate scabies. SIMAROUBACEAE Picramnia cf. Spruceana Engl. in Martius, Fl. Bras 2. pt; 2 (1877) 238. 189 Collect.: Davis & Yost 1012. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. degintai gipénil The leaves of this subcanopy tree are crushed to prepare an infusion which is used as a purple dye for fish nets, hammocks and carrying bags. Picramnia sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1010, 1032. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. degintai gip¢énii The leaves are also crushed and soaked in water overnight, and the infusion is utilized as a purple dye for fish nets and carrying bags. BURSERACEAE Protium sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1021. Waorani Informant: C¢énto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wingi- tag¢ The fruits of this tall (60 m.) forest tree are edible. MALPIGIACEAE Banisteriopsis muricata (Cav.) Cuatrecasas in Webbia 13 no. 2 (1958) 490. Collect.: Davis & Yost 967, 975. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. mii This liana is the only hallucinogenic plant currently employed by the Waorani. Although both collections were made at the edge of chacras, the Waorani maintain that the plant is not cultivated, and frequently point it out as growing wild along river banks. Whereas the use of the related hallucinogen Banisteriopsis Caapi is almost everywhere in the western Amazon defined as a social event, the imbibing of the drink prepared from B. muricata is a solitary experience among the Waorani. In the all-night ceremony, during which the ido, or shaman, is accompanied only 190 by his wife, the do prepares the drug by scraping the bark and slowly boiling the brew. According to our informants, the use of this drug is considered an aggressive act. It may be taken to cure illness but only if prepared by the one who caused the illness in the first place. “If someone consented to cure, it was an admission of guilt. If he didn’t cure the victim, he would be killed. Sometimes he was killed after curing someone, because he was the one who caused a The Waorani call this species mii and clearly associate certain powers with it. A boy’s uncle or grandfather will take a tiny piece of the liana and, using the windpipe from a toucan, piping guan or curassow as a blowgun, bow the wadded mii into the boy’s lungs so that he will grow up to have powerful lungs and become a great hunter. The Witoto of Puco Urquillo onthe Rio Ampiyacu in Peru call it sacha avahuasca—“wild ayahuasca”—and say that it can be used just as ayahuasca (B. Caapi), but that it is weaker. Hiraea sp. nov. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1038. Woarani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. dowemenei The fruit of this liana of the primary forest canopy is eaten. DICHAPETALACEAE Tapura amazonica P. et E., Nov. Gen. et Sp. 3 (1845) 41 t. 246. f. 2. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1044. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. awén- catomo The Waorani eat the fruits of this primary forest tree. In the northwest Amazon a related species, Tapura peruviana Krause, (known in Colombia as calentura chiricaspi) is used medicinally: an infusion of the leaves is taken to reduce fevers (Schultes in prep.). 19] EUPHORBIACEAE Hevea guianensis Aubl., Hist. Pl. Gui. Frang. 2 (1775) 871. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1018. Waorani Informant: Cénto(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. noogow¢ The latex of this 60 m. forest tree is placed over warble fly infestations, where it hardens into rubber and suffocates the larva. The latex is also drunk as a tonic to make one strong. Manihot esculenta Crantz., Inst. | (1766) 167. Collect.: Davis & Yost 980, 981, 983,984,985, 986, 987, 988, 989, 990, 991, 998 Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. quewe (growing plant), cééne (tuber) While the Waorani are known for their hunting abilities, they depend on gardens for a large portion of the diet, and their principal source of carbohydrate is yuca (Manihot esculenta). Although the Waoraniare technically swidden agriculturalists, their method of propagating yuca is better termed slash-and-rot than slash-and-burn. Both men and women prepare the site by clearing out the underbrush, and then the women plant the cut- tings ata 10 to 30 degree angle. All work is done in the shade, since the large trees are cut down by the men. The fields are only rarely burned off, and the Waorani prefer to plant either in a climax forest area or in an area that has lain fallow for a dozen or more years. The yuca, once planted, is the domain of the women who do all the planting, weeding and harvesting. They also prepare it for consumption, usually in the form of rep¢, a mildly fermented beverage made by mixing small portions of masticated boiled pieces of the roots with large quantities of boiled root material mashed into a paste. The paste is fermented overnight and then mixed with water and drunk. The Waorani adult consumes from four to seven liters of rep¢ (containing approximately 500 grams of yuca mash per liter) each day, but he also eats much yuca boiled with meat whenever meat is available. The Waorani recognize at least twenty varieties of sweet yuca, all of which are referable to Manihot esculenta. 192 a) b) d) e) j) k) I) Ewémongéwe — (Davis & Yost 980) This form is known as the “scarlet macaw’s yuca”, as the fruit is bright red. It grows to 3 m., has red petioles, deep purple leaves and a large root 10 cm. thick and up to 0.5 m. long. Genempacawe — (Davis & Yost 981) Attaining a height of 4 m., this form has dark green leaves and a white root. Edéb¢i — (Davis & Yost 982) The “leaning yuca”, is a variety which was much used by the ancestors. The leaves are light green, and the root measures 0.6 m. long and .15 m. wide. The flowers are pink. Gimatoye — (Davis & Yost 983) Growing luxuriantly on well drained hillsides, this variety has a very short white tuber, white flowers and light green leaves. It is espe- cially valued as a yuca to be consumed with howler monkey meat. Opataw¢ ve — (Davis & Yost 984) This plant, “red yuca”, is an especially hardy form that does well on hillsides. The root is not so sweet as other varieties, so many Waorani do not plant it. Naméntawe — (Davis & Yost985) This type, which hasa soft root, grows best on lowland terraces on well drained sites and is the sweetest of all forms recognized by the Waorani. The Waorani name means “white yuca.” Wengoicawe — (Davis & Yost 986) This type has a root up to 0.6 m. long and a sweet flavor. Iwanca — (Davis & Yost 987) The “howler monkey yuca” has a red, very sweet root. Dawaquewe — Another hardy variety that grows well on all sites, this form is known as the “true yuca” and produces a large, very sweet root. Gitaincawe — (Davis & Yost 989) This form is the “small yuca” which produces a short, stout root only 0.3 m. long. Equemowe — (Davis & Yost 990) Producing an enor- mous root as large as a human leg, this kind does well on hillsides. It@cawe — (Davis & Yost 991) The “yellow yuca” has a very small, yellow root 0.5 m. long and 3 cm. thick. 193 m) Dooyvéwe — (Davis & Yost 998) This kind grows to 8 m. tall and is called the “tall yuca.” It is the fastest growing type used by the Waorani and is reported not to flower; it produces a white, medium sized, sweet root. Several other Waorani forms were mentioned by informants but not collected. n) Wegompaca — One of the “ancestor’s yuca”, this type is eaten with howler monkey meat but never with that of the woolly monkey. Like all of the ancestor’s yucas, it is not very sweet. It is planted selectively by only a few individuals. 0) Moncatadewe — A very tall, unbranching form which produces a root that is red on the outside and white inside and quite sweet. p) Tapad¢ — A very tall form. q) Bebawe — The slowest growing kind. r) Equemotawe — A difficult form to grow. If not well weeded, it rots because the soil is too damp. s) Tamawe — An undescribed form. t) Badépancawe — An undescribed form. SAPINDACEAE Paullinia alata (R. et P.) G. Don subsp. /oretana Macbr. in Bot. Ser. Field Mus. 13, pt. 3A, no. 2 (1956) 330. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1039. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. r¢¢ént¢- moneca The informant was aware of no use for this plant, but, since it had a name, he concluded that it must have been used once by the Doorani, the ancesters. The Waorani name, f¢¢nt¢moneca, con- tains the morpheme for “viper,” so it is conceivable that it was used to treat snakebite. Several species of Paullinia are employed medicinally in the northwest Amazon. The Karijona Indians of the Colombian Vaupés make an emetic of the leaves of P. emetica R.E. Schultes 194 (Schultes in prep.). Pau/linia Yoco Schultes & Killip is used by the Inga. Siona, Kofan and Koreguaje Indians in Colombia, and it has been called the “most important non-alimentary plant in the economy of the natives of the Putumayo” (Schultes 1942a). The epidermis, cortex and phloem are mixed with cold water to make an extremely stimulating caffeine-rich beverage, which has also been used as an anti-malarial febrifuge in the Putumayo (Schultes 1942a). MALVACEAE Gossypium barbadense L., Sp. PI. (1753) 693. Collect.: Davis & Yost 920. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. dayvo The Waorani cultivate cotton to make their G-strings and ceremonial arm bands. They also use it to decorate hunting and war spears. BOMBACACEAE Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. in Fruct. 2 (1791) 244. t. 133. Collect.: Davis & Yost s.n. n.v. bob¢w¢ Kapok fibre from this forest tree is spun onto poison darts to serve as fletching and an air seal between the dart and blowgun. The kapok fibre is called co, but the tree is termed bob¢éwe¢. STERCULIACEAE Herrania nitida (P. et E.) R.E. Schultes in Caldasia 2 (1943) 13. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1030. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. boginca The Waorani eat the cauliflorous fruit of this species. Theobroma sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 927. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. méneca, tobanaaca 195 The delicious pulp of the cauliflorous fruits of this forest tree is eaten. Undetermined specimen of the Sterculiaceae Collect.: Davis & Yost 1001. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. bogiw¢ The green cauliflorous fruit of this 7 m. tall tree of the primary rain forest is edible and is known as boginca. The capuchin monkey and the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciurea) eat it as well. MARCGRAVIACEAE Marcgravia sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 954. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. namon- laque Children eat the orange-red fruits of this liana of the mid- canopy, and adult hunters recognize that it is consumed com- monly by toucans (Ramphastos cuvieri), and various species of toucanets, aracaries and oropendolas. Souroubea sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 972. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. Oonta The bark of this liana is used to wrap the blowgun halves together. Oonta is the same name that the Waorani give to the curare liana, Curarea tecunarum. Various species of Souroubea have been used medicinally in the northwest Amazon. The Indians of the Rio Apaporis use an astringent tea of the leaves of Souroubea crassipetala de Roonto treat mouth sores. The Karijona on the upper Vaupés in Colom- bia take a tea of the leaves of S. guianensis var. cylindrica Wittm. as a tranquilizing medicine, and the Taiwanos of the Rio Kana- nari of Colombia use a decoction of S. guianensis var. corallina (Mart.) Wittm. to calm apprehensive elderly tribal members who believe that they have been hexed (Schultes in prep). 196 GUTTIFERAE Rheedia Spruceana Engl. in Martius, Fl. Bras. 12, pt. 1 (1888) 463. Collect.: Davis & Yost 974. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. contaca The Waoranieat the fruit of this 50 m. forest tree and recognize that most species of parrots and macaws also feed on it. Tovomita sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1003. Waorani Informant: Tomo(m). Upriver dialect: n.v. gingamonca The exocarp and the flesh of the fruits of this tall canopy tree of the primary rain forest are removed, and the hard shell is used to measure water to make dart poison. Vismia sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 970. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. gaca- menew¢ This 30 m. forest tree has a copious yellow exudate which the Waorani employ as face paint. The resinous exudate of Vismia ferruginea HBK. is commonly applied to skin sores in the Brazilian Amazon (Schultes in prep). BIXACEAE Bixa Orellana L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 512. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1013. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. caca The aril around the seeds of this cultivated shrub is used as a bright red dye for pottery, blowguns and spears, as well as a face and body paint. Elsewhere the root is considered to be an aid to digestion and the seeds an expectorant (Schultes in prep.) but the Waorani do not ingest the plant nor use it medicinally. 197 VIOLACEAE Leonia glycycarpa R. et P., Fl. Per. 2 (1799) 69. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1022. Waorani Informant: Cénto(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. rémeénca The cauliflorous fruits of this small forest tree are eaten. FLACOURTICEA Carpotroche longifolia (Poepp.) Benth. in Journ. Linn. Soc. 5, Suppl. 2 (1861) 82. Collect.: Davis & Yost 945. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. non- ginca Waorani rub the cauliflorous fruits onto children to ensure long life. In Colombia, the bark of Carpotroche amazonica Mart. is valued as a caustic (Altschul, 1973). In Brazil, the oil from the seeds of this tree is applied to treat dermatitis and leprosy (Usher 1974). Casearia fasciculata (R. et P.) Sleumer in Notizbl. 11 (1934) 955. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1033. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. répéneé- moncaw¢ The sweet fruits of this small tree are eaten by the Waorani. Casearia prunifolia HBK., Nov. Gen. et Sp. 5 (1821) 362. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1031. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. :ép¢én¢- moncaw¢ The Waorani eat the yellow fruits of this small tree, and Wao- rani hunters recognize that these fruits are eaten by many birds and small arboreal mammals. According to the hunters it is the favorite food of the tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis). 198 In the upper Amazon of Brazil, the leaves of Casearia ovata Willd. are brewed in a tea for treating rheumatism. The fruit is diuretic (Schultes in prep.). Mayna odorata Aubl. in Hist. Pl. Gui. Franc. 2(1775) 921. t. 352. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1047. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. hogi- MONCAMO The fruit of this small tree is edible. CARICACEAE Carica Papaya L.. Sp. Pl. (1753) 1036. Collect.: Davis and Yost s.n. n.v. awanca The Waorani plant papayas in their gardens but recognize them as a recent introduction to the region. BEGONIACEAE Begonia sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 925. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. omencai. The succulent stems of this climber, which taste like rhubarb. are chewed as a condiment. Some Waorani suggest that it is good for colds. LECYTHIDACEAE Gustavia longifolia Poepp. ex Berg in Martius, Fl. Bras. 14, pt. | (1859) 472. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1017. Waorani Informant: Cénto(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. nonginca The fruits of this 20 m. forest tree are eaten. The Waorani consider it to be one of the most beautiful trees of the forest and frequently plant it around house sites and clearings. 199 Grias cf. Neuberthii Macbr. in Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 11 (1931) 30. Collect.: Davis & Yost 973. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. wingaca The cauliflorous fruits of this 30 m. forest tree are highly valued as an emergency food by all Waorani. During spearing raids, when chonta ( Bacrris Gasipaes) was out of season and the Wao- rani were forced to flee and live away from their gardens, they relied heavily upon this fruit. Waorani hunters recognize that virtually all forest animals also eat it, including the spider monkey (Aveles be/zebuth), squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciurea), woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha) and both peccaries (Tavassu pecari and T. tajacu). MYRTACEAE Calyptranthes plicata McVaugh in Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Bot. Ser. 13, pt. 4, no. 2 (1958) 607. Collect.: Davis & Yost 944. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. cowa- dew¢ When ripe, the fruit of this 4 m. forest tree is valued as a food. It is also thrown into streams and back eddies to attract fish. Because the wood is extremely tough and can be hardened, it was cut with stone axes and fire-hardened to make hunting and raid- ing spears before the arrival of metal tools. It is still used in an emergency to improvise hunting spears. MELASTOMATACEAE Loreya collatata Wurdack in Phytologia 18 (1969) 162. Collect.: Davis & Yost 937. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. tit¢m¢- neca The fruit of this tall (30 m.) forest tree is eaten. The Waorani name, meaning “tapir’s wild cacao”, highlights recognition of the fact that the fallen fruits are browsed by tapir ( Tapirus terrestris) and wild peccary (Tayassu pecari, T. tajacu). 200 Undetermined species of the Melastomataceae Collect.: Davis & Yost 1036. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. ewéngii The blue fruits of this common shrub are edible. THEOPHRASTACEAE Clavija sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1055. Waorani Informant: Tomo(m). Upriver dialect: n.v. namontaqui The beautiful aromatic flowers of this small shrub are prized and worn in coronas during festivals. SAPOTACEAE Undetermined specimen of the Sapotaceae Collect.: Davis & Yost 1000. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. oopow¢ This primary forest canopy tree, which may attain a height of 80 m., has a delicious edible fruit. The orange-red fruits yield a copious white latex in the exocarp and have a sweet flesh sur- rounding the black seeds. APOCYNACEAE Undetermined specimen of the Apocynaceae Collect.: Davis & Yost 955. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wep¢- monca The Waoraniconsume the fruits of this 25 m. tree and drink the copious latex which the fruit contains. They also recognize that all forest animals also eat the fruits. Undetermined specimen of the Apocynaceae Collect.: Davis & Yost 957 Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. cén¢iw¢ The copious white latex of this small forest tree is used by the Waorani to treat warble fly larvae (Dermatobius hominus) infes- 201 tations. The latex is rubbed over the area to suffocate and draw out the larvae. The Waorani note that the scarlet macaw (Ara macaol) and the black hooded parrot ( Pionites melanocephala) eat the fruit. CONVOLVULACEAE Ipomoea Batatas (L.) Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 6 (1804) 14. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1053. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. acag¢ The Waorani cultivate the sweet potato, often planting it around house sites. Although adults use it for variety in their diet, they do not rely heavily upon it. Children, however, frequently collect the tubers to boil or roast as snacks throughout the day. SOLANACEAE Brugmansia x insignis (Barb-Rodr.) Lockwood ex Davis, comb. nov.! Basionym: Datura insignis Barb. Rodr. Vellosia, ed. 2, | 62 1891. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1054. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. no name given Although this cultigen was found growing ina Waorani garden on a river flat, it was not recognized by the informants. The solitary specimen was the only representative observed in Wao- rani territory; it was probably dispersed by the river. Many indigenous groups of eastern Ecuador use this plant asa powerful hallucinogen. The Kofan make an infusion of the leaves which they drink in shamanistic ritual. The indigenous groups of the Rio Pastaza region of Ecuador prepare a potion from the inner pulp to foresee the future. Elsewhere the leaves and sap of ' Because of his untimely death, Brugmansia specialist Dr. Tommie E. Lockwood did not validly publish the combination Brugmansia x insignis. Lockwood did use this combina- tion, however, in his account of Brugmansia for Hortus Third (Bailey and Bailey 1976) in which he explained the origin of this species as a hybrid between B. suaveolens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Bercht. et Presland and B. versicolor Lagerheim. 202 the plant are applied as a poultice to relieve aches and pains (Schultes in prep.). Brunfelsia grandiflora D. Don ssp. Schultesii Plowman in Bot. Mus. Leafl. 23: 6 (197) 259. Collect.: Davis & Yost 958. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wing¢- mécaw¢ The Waorani use the wood of this species in house construc- tion. Although they recognize that the fruits are toxic, they do not use the plant medicinally or as a hallucinogen. Brunfelsia grandiflora is one of the most prized medicinal plants of the Amazon. The Quichua name chiricaspi or chiricsa- nago means “cold tree” and “cold medicine”, referring to its effect of producing the sensation of chills. Indigenous groups through- out the northwest Amazon use this plant to treat fevers. It is also widely employed as an hallucinogen and is often added to narcotic drinks prepared from Banisteriopsis Caapi, it pro- duces a tingling sensation in the extremities and intensifies the effects of the narcotic drink. Preparations of the plant are also used to treat rheumatism and arthritis (Plowman 1977). Capsicum chinense Jacq. in Hort. Vindob. 3 (1776) 38..1..07. Collect.: Davis & Yost 993. Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. giimo The fruits of this cultivated pepper are used for stomachache. It is never eaten as food but is often used by the shaman’s wife to bring him out of the intoxication induced by Banisteriopsis muricata. Physalis angulata L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 183. Collect.: Davis & Yost 995. Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. cowane moncamo 203 Children often eat the sweet fruits of this | m. tall plant that grows in exposed areas. Solanum pectinatum Dunal in DC. Prod. 13, pt. | (1852) 250. Collect.: Davis & Yost 930. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. daboca The Waorani consider this species wild and claim that it was planted by the jaguar. The pulp of the fruit is rubbed into the hair almost daily to give lustre and to control head lice. When eaten, the acidic fruits are said to be effective in preventing the vomiting that normally results from scorpion stings and bites. A decoction of the fruits is also rubbed on any type of sting. Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal, Solan. Syn. (1816) 43. Collect.: Davis & Yost 918. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. daboca The fruits of this cultivated shrub are eaten or sucked to relieve thirst. They are also rubbed into the scalp to make the hair shine. The pulp of the fruit is imbibed in cases of scorpion stings and spider bites to prevent vomiting, and the fruits are rubbed onto any type of insect sting or bite to alleviate pain. Related species of Solanum are used in a variety of ways throughout the northwest Amazon. The Kofan use the pulp of a related species, S. mammosum L., to repel cockroaches. This practice is widely known, and it has been suggested that the insecticidal properties of the pulp and seeds should be investi- gated (Schultes 1982). BIGNONIACEAE Crescentia Cujete L. Sp. Pl. (1753) 626. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1037. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. owéw¢ The fruits of this cultivated tree are used to make kapok (Ceiba pentandra) holders, drinking bowls and water containers, as well as the covers for the top and bottom of the dart quivers. 204 Mansoa Standleyi (Steyermark) Gentry. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1035. Waorani Informant: Cénto (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. wivag¢i The leaves and stems of this liana are extremely pungent, and the Waorani use them to treat fever, sore muscles and arthritic ailments. The leaves are crushed in hot water, and the decoction is drunk or applied topically to the afflicted area. When taken in large amounts, the decoction causes vomiting. Minquartia guianensis Aubl. in Hist. Pl. Gui. Franc. 2 (1775) 4. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1002. Waorani Informant: Tomo(m). Upriver dialect: n.v. cobacadew¢ The bark of this 12 m. forest tree is stripped, pounded, and swished in water asa fish poison. The Waorani value the wood in house construction. ACANTHACEAE Ruellia colorata Baill. in Bull. Soc. Linn. Paris, 2 (1890) 853. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1025. Waorani Informant: Cento (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. éwé¢- moya The bright, highly conspicuous inflorescences are placed as adornments in armbands during festivals. RUBIACEAE Alibertia cf. edulis(L. Rich) A. Richin Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Par. 5 (1830) 234. t. 21. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1046. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. owécaw¢ The Waorani employ the fruit of this small tree as a substitute for Crescentia Cujete. The fruit may be used as a bowl, a water container, to cover the dart quivers, or to carry kapok. Calycophyllum acreanum Ducke in Archiv. Inst. Biol. Veg. Rio de Janeiro 2 (1935) 70. 205 Collect.: Davis & Yost 1041. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. oovow¢ The bark of this 60 m. tree of the primary forest is shaved off to prepare a decoction for treating fungal infections. Coussarea brevicaulis Karuase in Verh. Bot. Ver. Brand. 1903, | (1909) 117. Collect.: Davis & Yost 936. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. oman- como The yellow fruits of this small tree are edible. The Waorani recognize that many animals also eat the fruit: especially the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciurea), the pygmy marmoset (Ce- buella pygmeae), the capuchin monkey (Cebus albifrons), the tamarin monkey (Saguinus fuscicollis), the red titi (Callicebus moloch), and the woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha). Duroia hirsuta K. Schum. in Mart., Fl. Bras. 6: 6 (1889) 367. Collect.: Davis & Yost 966. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. owécaw¢ This treelet is an abundant myrmecophyte of the primary rain forest. The Waorani break open the swollen stems that house the ants and apply the tissue and the concentrated pheromones directly to the inside of the cheek to relieve the pain that results from excessive use of the blowgun. The Kofan use the leaves of an unidentified species of Duroia in a cold water infusion to treat coughs (Schultes in prep.). Pentagonia parvifolia Steyerm. in Acta Biol. Venez. 4(1964) 232. Collect.: Davis & Yost 969. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. boyomo The Waorani eat the fruit of this 30 m. forest tree and report that all forest animals also consume the fruit. The Kofan Indians take the pulp from around the seeds of an unidentified species of Pentagonia and place it in cuts to prevent infection (Schultes in prep.). 206 Pentagonia spathicalyx K. Schum. in Martius, Fl. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 302. Collect.: Davis & Yost 942, 971. Waorani Informant: Geque(m). Downriver dialect: n.v. bovomo Known as bovomo, “the sting ray leaf’ because the broad leaf looks like a sting ray, this forest tree gives an edible fruit applied to treat sting ray wounds— the most painful of all jungle afflictions. Simira sp. Collect.: Davis & Yost 1007. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. wepeta The bark of this tall(70 m.) forest tree oxidizes toa brilliant red and is used as a dye by the Waorani. Shavings are soaked over- night and boiled the next day to yield the red dye for infant- carrying slings, baskets, hammocks and fishnets. CUCURBITACEAE Cayaponia Ruizii Cogn. in DC., Monog. Phan. 3 (1881) 794. Collect.: Davis & Yost 959. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. cagi- wénca The Waorani eat the seed of this liana, and hunters recognize that it isa preferred food of the toucan (Ramphosto cuvieri), the chestnut fronted macaw (Ara severa), the scarlet macaw (Ara macao), and the woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha). Although the Waorani do not consider this plant medicinal, the Kofan Indians burn the stems and apply the ashes of an unidenti- fied species of Cayaponia to external sores to hasten healing (Schultes 1982). Indians of the Rio Apaporis in Colombia use the green bark of Cayaponia ophthalmica R.E. Schult. to prepare a wash to treat conjunctivitis. The Tikuna of the Rio Loretoyacu of Colombia dry and powder the leaves of Cayaponia glandulosa Cogn. to prepare an insect repellant for use in hammocks and clothes (Schultes in prep.). 207 COMPOSITAE Clibadium asperum DC., Prodr. 5 (1836) 506. Collect.: Davis & Yost 924. Waorani Informant: Taade (m). Ridge dialect: n.v. coonei The Waorani use the crushed leaves of this cultivated shrubasa very effective fish poison. Fifteen pounds of crushed leaves released into a stream 0.5 m. deep and 5 m. wide will stun the fish in a full kilometer downstream; when cast into a small oxbow lake, the plant material is effective for three to four hours. The Indians assert that this was nota fish poison of the ancestors, but that they received it from their neighbors, the Lowland Quichua. This species is known throughout the northwest Amazon asa fish poison, FAMILY UNDETERMINED Collect.: Davis & Yost 950. Waorani Informant: Geque (m). Downriver dialect: n.v. mé- netad¢ This unidentified forest liana has a star-shaped fruit with yel- low seeds covered by an orange aril. The latex of the stem is applied to the exposed nerve of a decayed tooth to deaden the pain. Collect.: Davis & Yost 996. Waorani Informant: Oncaye (f). Downriver dialect: n.v. contaca The fruits of this 25 m. tree of the forest have a yellow rind and white flesh; the pulp is eaten. kk Collect.: Davis & Yost 1042. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. anawénta The Waorani shave the inner bark of this 60 m. forest tree and squeeze the shavings in water mixed with Bixa Orellana pulp to brighten the color from dull to bright orange. 2K 2k OK 208 Collect.: Davis & Yost 1050. Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. quiguiwai The ancestors of the Waorani mixed various species of epi- phytic bryophytes with Dictyonema sp. nov. (Davis 1051) to prepare an hallucinogenic drink. The generic terms for mosses is quiguiwai. ooo UNIDENTIFIED WAORANI PLANT NAMES a) Dab¢raw¢ — the bark of this tree is valued as a fungicide. b) Omeogo — the inner cambium of this tree is harvested for bark cloth. c) Tanemo — a liana that produces an edible tuber like the sweet potato. d) 7it¢quewe — The “wild” form of yuca used by the ancestors. e) Winca — A shrub to small tree which is the source of a blue-black dye, similar to Genipa sp. LITERATURE CITED Acro Duarte,L.E. 1979. Principales Plantas Utiles dela Amazonia Colom- biana. Instituto Geografico “Augustin Codazzi”, Bogota. p. 139. Altschul, S. Von R. 1973. Drugs and Foods from Little-Known Plants. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Ma. 1973. pp. 198, 36, 5S. Bailey,L.H. 1976. Hortus Third. MacMillan Publishing Co., N.Y.,N.Y., p. 184. Black, F.L. 1975. Infectious disease in primitive societies. Science vol. 187. pp. 515-518. Davis, E. Wade and James A. Yost, in press. The Ethnomedicine of the Waorani. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. in press. Novel Hallucinogens from Eastern Ecuador. Botanical Museum Leaflets. Harvard Univ. Duke, J. 1972. Isthmian Ethnobotanical Dictionary, Fulton, Maryland, p. >: Fanshawe, D. 1950. Forest Products of British Guiana. Part II. Forestry Bulletin No. 2 (New Series), Forest Department, British Guiana, p. 44. Garcia-Barriga, H. 1974. Flora Medicinal de Colombia. Instituto de Cien- cias Naturales, Universidad Nacional, Bogota, Colombia. vol. 1. pp. 140, 144, 273. 1975. Flora Medicinal de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Natu- rales, Universidad Nacional, Bogota, vol. 2, p. 69. 209 Holmstedt, B., J. E. Lindgren, T. Plowman. L. Rivier, R. FE. Schultes, O. Tovar. 1980. Indole Alkaloids in Amazonian Myristicaceae: Field and laboratory research, Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, vol. 28, no. 3. pp. 215-234. Kaplan, J. E.. J. W. Larrick, J. A. Yost. L. Farell, H. B. Greenberg, K. L. Herrmann, A. J. Sulzer, K. W. Walls. L. Pederson. 1980. Infectious disease pattern in the Waorani, an isolated Amerindian population, Ameri- can Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 29. no. 2. pp. 298 312. Larrick, J. W.. J. A. Yost, and J. Kaplan. 1978. Snakebite among the Waorani Indians of eastern Ecuador. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 72, no. 5. pp. 542-543. Larrick, J. W.,J.A. Yost. J. Kaplan.G. Kingand J. Mayhall. 1979. Patterns of Health and Disease Among the Waorani Indians of Eastern Ecuador. Medical Anthropology, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 147 191. New York Times. 1956. Five U.S. Missionaries Believed Slain, January 13, p. 2. Peeke.M.C. 1973. Preliminary Grammar of Auca, The Summer Institute of Linguistics, Norman, Oklahoma, p. 4. Pereira, H. 1929. Pequena Contribucdéo para um Diccionario das Plantas Uteis do Estado de Sao Paula, Typographia Brasil de Rothschild e Co., Sao Paulo, p. 256. Perez Arbelaez, E. 1956. Plantas Utiles de Colombia, Sucesores de Rivade- neyra, Madrid, p. 575. Pinkley, H. V. 1973. The Ethno-ecology of the Kofan. Doctoral Disserta- tion, Harvard University. Pio Correa,M. 1926. Diccionario das Plantas Uteis do Brasil e das Exoticas Cultivadas. \mprensa Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, p. 329. Plowman. T. 1977. Brunfelsia in Ethnomedicine. Botanical Museum Leaf- lets, Harvard University, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 289-320. Schultes, R. E. 1942a. Plantae Colombianae II. Yoco: a stimulant of south- ern Colombia. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, vol. 10, no. 10. pp. 301-324. -and Hofmann, A. 1980. The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucino- gens, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Ill., ed. 2. pp. 125-126. and Holmstedt, B. 1971. Miscellaneous notes on myristicaceous plants of South America, Llovdia, vol. 34. no. 1, pp. 61-78. Ethnopharmacology of the Northwest Amazon, unpublished manu- script. Theakston, R. D. G.. H. A. Reid, J. W. Larrick, J. Kaplan, and J. A. Yost. 1981. Snake venom antibodies in Ecuadorian indians, Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, vol. 84, pp. 199-202. Usher, G. 1974. Dictionary of Plants Used by Man, Hafner Press, New York, pp. 68, 126, 133, 326, 592, 500. Wallis, E.E. 1973. Aucas Downriver, Harper and Row, New York. Yost, J. A. 1981. People of the Forest: The Waorani, in Ecuador: In the Shadow of the Volcanoes. Quito, Ecuador, Ediciones Libri Mundi, pp. 96-115. 210 Yost. J. A. 1981. Twenty Years of Contact: The Mechanisms of Change in Wao (“Auca™) Culture, in Norman E. Whitten, Jr. (ed.) Cu/tural Transfor- mations and Ethnicity in Modern Ecuador, Urbana, University of Hlinois Press, pp. 677-704. Yost. J. A. and Patricia M. Kelley. 1983. Shotguns, Blowguns, and Spears: The Analysis of Technological Efficiency, in Hames and Vickers (eds.), Adaptive Responses of Native Amazonians, New Y ork, Academic Press, pp. 189 224. 211 PLATE 20 Plate 20. Waorani hunter, aged approximately 75. Note dart quiver, gourd containing kapok fiber, and piranha jaw for notching darts. Photograph by E.W. Davis. zie PLATE 21 Fishing with méneco (Lonchocarpus Nicou (Aubl.) DC. var. Urucu Killip & Smith. Photograph by E.W. Davis. Plate 21. oa) N PLATE 22 Plate 22. Treating one authors’ infection with oonta (Curarea tecunarum Barn. et Druk.). Photograph by E.W. Davis. 214 Plate 23. Kowé, Jaguar shaman drying the poison darts. To the left, supported by two hunting spears, is the filter for producing the poison. Photograph by E.W. Davis. pA be. PLATE 24 +e" ¢, * *,% fas elt gtetey Pid ~ ber @ ie attgt 4S r Sot. — Plate 24. Weaving baskets with otame ( Hereropsis sp.). Photograph by E.W. Davis. 216 PLATE 25 Plate 25. Weaving a hammock with chambira fiber (Astrocarvum Chambira Burret) Note the raw fiber on the ground. Photograph by E.W. Davis. 217 BoTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 3 SUMMER 1983 THE LAST MEAL OF THE BUDDHA R. GORDON WASSON I WHAT WAS SUKARA-MADDAVA? Upwards of a dozen scholars! in the past century have com- mented on what the Buddha ate at his Last Meal, ca. B.C. 483, and the puzzling mystifications in the evidence. The meal was served to him and his suite of monks by his host the metal- worker Cunda at Pava, a village that lay near Kusinara where the Mahaparinirvana — the “Great Decease” as the Rhys Davidses translated it — was scheduled to take place some hours later. The canonical Pali Text says that Cunda served his august guest sukara-maddava, a hapax in Pali. Walpola Rahula, the Buddhist monk and scholar residing in the West, has assembled ina memorandum for us the relevant Pali texts with his transla- tions and notes, and his document is appended to our paper. The first part of that compound word, sukara-, is simple: “nertaining to swine,” su- being cognate with Latin sus. The second element is generally thought to mean tidbits, dainties, but whether as a specially delicate part of the pig’s meat or as a food of which swine were specially fond, whether a subjective or objective genitive, no one can say. Rhys Davids, noticing that in Bihar there was a common edible underground fungus, trans- lated sukara-maddava by “truffles.”? This was a successful pitch, considering that by “truffles” he meant an underground fungus common thereabouts, although no truffle (=7uber) has been discovered so far in Bihar. His underground fungus was a Scle- roderma, a little snow-white ball that is gathered just as soon as it appears on the surface. There are a number of genera of underground fungi of which truffles are one, and each genus has many species. 219 The two canonical Pali Commentaries discuss but do not agree on the meaning to give to sukara-maddava. One of them is the canonical Pali Commentary on the Digha Nikava, Sumanga- lavilasini, and the other, the Paramatthajotika, the canonical Commentary on the Udana. These Commentaries took their present form in Pali under the guidance of the celebrated monk Buddhaghosa early in the fifth century of our era, mostly from Sinhala sources available to him. Each of these commentaries suggests various dishes as possibilities. Both include pork and an “elixir” (a chemical preparation) in the list of choices. The canonical Pali Commentary on the Digha Nikava adds soft rice with the broth of the five products of the cow. The canonical Pali Commentary on the Udana, deriving its authority from the Great Commentary (now lost) that dates from the third century B.C., offers two further choices: bamboo shoots (sprouts) trod- den by pigs, and mushrooms grown on a spot trodden by pigs. That the Buddha was eating his last meal was known to every- one thereabouts: nothing that happened there could have es- caped those within eye-reach nor have been forgotten by them, not least because of the awesome event to take place a few hours later, the Buddha’s translation to Nirvana that he had been pre- dicting for that night since he was in Vai’sali three months before. Dr. Stella Kramrisch, building on the work of the late Profes- sor Roger Heim and me in eastern India, has identified with finality the sukara-maddava as the Purtika} a plant that figures conspicuously in the Brahmanas and other early post-Vedic sacred Sanskrit texts. In this paper I will examine the Last Meal at Pava and the death of Gautama the Buddha at Kusinara in what is today northern Bihar. I will focus attention on what he ate at his Last Meal—a matter of little theological importance to the Theravadin branch of Buddhism and none at all to the Bud- dhists of the Greater Vehicle, but pertinent to our mushroomic inquiries and notably, as I shall show, to the identity of Soma. Of all the scholars who have dealt with the Last Meal of the Buddha, | believe only one, André Bareau, has addressed him- self to the surprising anomaly offered by the possibility of either pork or mushrooms being served to the Buddha at this meal. Here is what Bareau has to say: 220 En effet, la viande de porc et plus encore les champignons sont des choses pour lesquelles les Indiens impregnés de culture brahma- nique, comme Iétaient le Buddha et une grande partie de ses disciples, eprouvent un profond, un insurmontable dégout et que ne consomment guére que certains tribus sauvages ou des gens de basse caste, rejetés par la bonne société et presses par la faim. Liidée d’offrir au Bienheureux, pour l’honorer et le regaler, comme un mets de choix... .de la viande de pore ou des champig- nons est aussi insolite que si, dans une legende occidentale, on offrait A quelque éminent personnage un festin dont le plat princi- pal serait une cuisse de chien ou une purée de goemon, des saute- relles frites ou des chenilles grillées; cela paraitrait a juste titre une plaisanterie ou ferait croire a une erreur to copie. [ Recherches sur la biographie du Buddha. Tome |, p 267. Paris. 1970. Publications de l’Ecole Francaise d’Extréme-Orient, Vol LXXVII] Confirming what Bareau says, Chap V-5 of the laws of Manu, believed to have been committed to writing around the begin- ning of the Christian era, declares that: garlic, leeks and onions, mushrooms and (all plants) springing from impure (substances), are unfit to be eaten by twice-born men, and this proscription is repeated in V-19: A twice-born man who knowingly eats mushrooms, a village-pig. garlic, a village-cock, onions, or leeks, will become an outcast. Here the prohibition carries a dire penalty. Mushrooms are for- bidden in two further clauses, VI-14 and XI-156. The repeated prohibition applies expressly to twice-born men, which em- braced the three upper castes. The ban on mushrooms was no dead letter. Sir Willlam Jones quotes from a commentator on the laws of Manu names Yama: ...the ancient Hindus held the fungus in such detestation that Yama...declares “those who eat mushrooms, whether springing from the ground or growing on a tree, fully equal in guilt to the slayers of Brahmens, and the most despicable of all deadly sinners.” [The Works of Sir William Jones, Vol V, pp 160-161, London, 1807.] 221 This is the most extravagant outburst of mycophobia that we have found anywhere, surely the most extravagant to be found in the Indo-European world, which ts saying a good deal. The learned Brahman tells us that the simple mushroom-eater Is as bad as the murderers of Brahmans! Why such passionate, such exaggerated censure? Bareau, in comparing the Hindu eater of mushrooms to one among us who eats dog’s flesh, was engaging in understatement. * Ok Ox Three months before the Last Meal at Pava and before his Mahaparinirvana, the Buddha had been sojourning at Vai'sali and thereabouts. While in the vicinity of Vai’sali he had suffered a grave illness, attributed from ancient times to a chronic gastric upset, probably dysentery; had felt the weight of his years, had called himself an “octogenarian,” and had announced his inten- tion to go to Kusinara and there three months later to expe- rience the Mahaparinirvana, the Final Extinction. He was predicting the time and place of his own end. He made his way to Kusinara with his followers on foot, teaching the doctrine as was his wont, and it took him three months to cover the 140 kilometers. To his disciples and the villagers he made freely known his purpose: he never wavered in his resolution, not did he hide it from anyone. The day before the Buddha reached Kusinara he arrived at the nearby village of Pava and passed the night in the mango grove belonging to one Cunda, a metal-worker or blacksmith, and therefore a ’sudra, the lowest of the four castes in Hindu society. Cunda, appearing almost immediately, inquired what the Bud- dha desired. According to one of the Chinese recensions of the Buddha’s life, the Buddha explained that he was to undergo the Mahaparinirvana in Kusinara: lamentations followed. Cunda invited the Buddha and his many followers to take their single meal the next day with him, and by his silence the Buddha accepted. Cunda withdrew to assemble the food and prepare it. In the morning Cunda came to summon the Buddha and his followers to the meal that he had prepared. 222 Cunda, as we said before, was a ’sudra, a man of the lowest caste. On the other hand, as the metal-worker of the region he was a technician, comfortably off, extending hospitality on a moment’s notice to the Buddha and his numerous followers, one accustomed to meeting and mixing with travelers including indi- viduals of what are today called the “scheduled castes,” aboriginal tribesmen who were not Hindus and therefore not a part of the dominant Hindu society. His forge may well have been the raison détre for Pava. When the Buddha arrived at Cunda’s dwelling-place and was seated in the place prepared for him, he (according to the Digha Nikaya) addressed Cunda saying, As to the swkara-maddava you have made ready, serve me with them, Cunda, and as to the other food, sweet rice and cakes, serve the monks with them. [Chap. IV, para. 18, p. 138] The Buddha then said to Cunda, Whatever sukara-maddava are left over to thee, those bury in a hole. [para. 19] Ina hole, not just throw away, and we are told that the surplus sukara-maddava Cunda buried in a hole. Apparently Cunda had brought swkara-maddava for the whole company, as he had thought all would share in them, so there must have been an ample surplus. Then the Buddha added these remarkable words, I see no one, Cunda, on earth nor in Mara’s heaven, nor in Brah- ma’s heaven, no one among the Samanas and Brahmanas, among gods, and men, by whom, when he has eaten it, that food can be properly assimilated, save by a Tathagata. [para. 19] Obviously the Buddha had recognized at once what he was being offered, the swkara-maddava, and he knew the mush- rooms were of a species that would shortly smell bad (“stink”) if they were not eaten or buried ina hole. (To this day the custom 220 among some Santal seems to survive to bury any surplus swkara- maddava in a hole.) Perhaps it was the first time in his life that the Buddha, of ksatriya origin, was being offered mushrooms to eat. But these particular mushrooms were familiar to him because of their unique role in the Hindu religion in which he had been brought up. André Bareau appreciates to the full the solemnity of this dish of swkara-maddava, though he did not know what it was. He Says: ...cette nourriture, la derniere que consomme la Bienheureux avant son Parinirvana, est une nourriture en quelque sorte sacrée, dont les riches qualités, la puissance essentielle, vont lui permettre d‘accomplir cet exploit surhumain, la supréme Extinction. Cette richesse, cette puissance sont trop grandes pour étre supportées par les autre ¢tres, hommes ou dieux, qui n’auront jamais, et de loin, a exécuter une action comparable. [ Recherches sur la biog- raphie du Buddha. Tome |, p 271. Paris. 1970. Publications de Ecole Frangaise d’Extréme-Orient, Vol LXXVIT] Here was the Buddha, at one of the two supreme moments of his life, unexpectedly offered at his last meal a dish that Hindus of the upper castes were forbidden to eat, an edible mushroom, a dish that was the surrogate for Soma when formally sacrificed in an utterly different manner and setting’. Buddhaghosa quotes the Great Commentary (Maha-atthakatha) as saying of Cun- da’s motives in offering this dish to the Buddha and his monks: They say that Cunda, the smith, having heard that the Exalted One would attain parinibbana that day, thought it would be good if he could live longer after eating this dish, and offered it wishing for the Master’s longevity. [p. 245 infra] Walpola Rahula’s comment on the Great Commentary from which we have extracted this quotation is as follows: The Maha-atthakatha (Great Commentary) is the most impor- tant of the ancient original Sinhala commentaries dating back at least to the 3rd century B.C., on which are based the present available Pali commentaries of the Sth century A.C., including the Commentaries on the Digha Nikayva and the Udana from which these two commentarial passages are taken. [p. 246 infra] 224 The Great Commentary cites hearsay (“They say...”) as the reason that Cunda served those particular mushrooms on that day. The hearsay may be right, but if indeed Cunda felt the dish of Putika would extend the life of the Buddha, he must have confused the properties of Soma and of the Purika. The Putika enjoyed a unique status as the exalted surrogate for Soma, but, whereas Soma was consumed, the Purika, as Kramrisch quotes the sources,’ were mixed with the clay and then fired ritually in the making of the Mahavira pot and there is no reason to think that the Hindus of the three upper castes or even the Brahman hierarchs ate these fungi. Does no the text of the Great Com- mentary permit another interpretation: Cunda, a ’sudra accus- tomed to eating the Putika, served them because it was the season of the rains (which had started when the Buddha and his suite were in Vai’sali) and the mushrooms, which he had known all his life, were fresh from picking? If so, it was the Buddha who at once recognized them because of their role in the Hindu reli- gion and stopped Cunda from serving them to the others. The Buddha was certainly not accustomed to eating mushrooms of any kind, and here he was being invited to eat those slimy mucoid excrescences, as the twice-born Hindus with loathing would view them. May not this, combined with the emotional tension of his imminent extinction, have provoked a recrudes- cence of his intermittent attacks of dysentery? I] now interrupt our account of the Buddha’s progress on his last day to set forth certain discoveries bearing on sukara- maddava. II THE SANTAL AND THE PUTKA By an accident of fortune the Santal people living now in western Bihar and Orissa have preserved for us, as though ina time capsule, the identity of the Sanskrit Putika, a plant until recently unidentified, an ingredient in the clay of the Mahavira vessel that was fired in the course of the Pravargya sacrifice. The Putika is known as having been the surrogate for Soma,‘ though probably today by no Santal, and it figures conspicuously in the 223 \OKusinara ‘ N E P * 5 ;, \, i Se ’ ‘| EXPEDITION TO SANTAL PARGANAS, 1967 te ROGER HEIM - R.G. WASSON Pd : % Overnight stops 2 giao 8 Miles a 0 60 Kilometers pee : 2 Pi men) t-26° - 4 SS = tee oeee ro “ey ~ Pataliputra (Patna) a 3 “. soot (B ) TA oot “iad Ss aranasi (Benares $ s G* r 140 mil . of Pataliput = : miles w. 0 ae iputra ae 7 nea § i te: o™ L / NIspe” b i / Karodith f / PAKISTAN Z . Kathikund x BAY OF f SANTAL Panpamas : a BENGAL - Dumka ont set Bhagirathi BENGAL Calcutta, ‘VitLages i © Bisoi tee F, aed / ROA fe Joshipur? = | = Beripeds Gurguria Nawana — i$ / \F /Balasores ¢ X\ O R | S S A oe, % ? 7 Chee, Suttagk BAY OF a BENGAL Bhubaneswar % = .2 , eb: Puri x —? Konarak as i N Oo Brahmanas and other early sacred Sanskrit texts. As I said before, it was identified by Kramrisch on the strength of evi- dence produced by Heim and me.’ (Roger Heim, oustanding French mycologist, had served as President of the Académie des Sciences and was Director of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle: he accompanied me on many of my field trips.) * The late Georg Morgenstierne, the Norwegian linguist, spe- cialist in the Kafir and Dardic languages, also a Sanskrit and Persian scholar, first called my attention to an oddity of the Santal language of special interest to me, as it affected their mushroom vocabulary. Santali was not a specialty of his but he was a vast reservoir of general linguistic knowledge. The Santal, who number some millions, live in villages scat- tered in the area of eastern Bihar known as the Santal Parganas, in the western north-and-south strip of West Bengal, and in Orissa as far south as the Simlipal Hills. The Santal are slight in build, neat in dress, with sleek, black hair and dark almost black regular features, their houses of red earth ornamented with cu- rious painted geometric patterns and neatly disposed within and without, in these respects contrasting with the Hindus. By tradi- tion they are food gatherers, hunters, fishermen, but are now taking to agriculture. The languages of the subcontinent are divided into the Sanskrit family, overwhelmingly important, the Dravidian, second in importance, and the Munda, the third much smaller group of which Santali is the biggest. (I here do not mention the Sino-Tibetan lamguages, confined chiefly as they are to the northeastern border.) From the Indo-European point of view, the Munda lan- guages, of which Santali is the biggest member, are peculiar: in Santali there are no genders,—no msaculine, feminine, neuter. Their nouns are either animate or inanimate—endowed with a soul or without a soul. The entire animal kingdom is animate, has a soul. The whole of the mineral kingdom is inanimate, without a soul. There are oddities: e.g., the sun, moon, stars are animate. Strangely, the vegetable kingdom—herbs, shrubs, trees, tel the fungal world— is inanimate, but with a single exception, one Species of mushroom, the putka. The Santal do not know why the putka is animate, or so they say. The putka is an under- ground fungus that is gathered for eating just as it appears, a snow-white little ball, in mycology identifed by Heim as a Scle- roderma, well known in Europe. In season it is highly prized as food by the Santal, and much sought for by women and children. For the last century the Norwegian Lutherans have made a vigorous play to be helpful in India by missionary activity among the Santal. The Rev. P. O. Bodding, a resident of the Santal Parganas from 1890 to 1934, mastered their language and compiled an admirable Santal-English dictionary in five large volumes, pointing out among other things the oddity of putka, which enjoyed in the vegetable kingdom the unique attribute of a soul. He could not explain this anomaly, nor did he venture an etymology for putka. But in the preface to his dictionary Mr. Bodding observed a noteworthy fact: Strangely enough, the Santals use some pure Sanskrit words, which, so far as | know, are not heard in the present day Hindi. I visited Dumka in the Santal Parganas for the first time in January 1965. The Rev. A.E. Stronstad, Mr. Bodding’s suc- cessor, and Mrs. Str@nstad put me up and Mrs. Str@nstad gra- ciously served as my interpreter. We asked elderly and knowl- edgeable Santal in Dumka and the surrounding villages why putka was animate. No one could tell us. Our best informant turned out to be Ludgi Marndi, the widow of a native Lutheran pastor. She told us that there was one entheogenic mushroom.* ro Was it the purka? No, not at all. It was merely o7’, “mushroom” **Entheogen™ is a word devised by some of us for those plant substances that inspired Farly Man with awe and reverence for their effect on him. By “Farly Man” we mean mankind in prehistory or proto-history, before he could read and write. whether long long ago or since then or even living today in remote regions of the earth. “Entheogen”™ (or its adjective “entheogenic”) has the advantage that it does not carry the odor of “hallucinogen.” “psychedelic.” “drug.” ete. of the youth of the 1960's. See Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, Vol. V1 (1-2), Jan-June 1979, pp. 145-6. 228 of the soulless class. No one was able to find an example of this inebriating mushroom, but the description (big, growing only in dung mostly of cattle. and white reaching an intense cream color in the umbolate center) tallied with Srropharia cubensis. Neither were there any purka at the time of my visit: they would come after the monsoon broke. Ludgi Marndi and some other infor- mants suggested that the putka was animate because it was found regularly in the sacred grove of sarjom trees near every village. (Santali sarjom = Hindi sal = Shorea robusta.) But the sacred sarjom trees were not animate so why should a mush- room growing from their roots be? Furthermore, the putka grew also in mycorrhizal relationship with other species of trees. Ludgi Marndi seemed an especially good informant and just before we were leaving for New Delhi, defeated as we thought, I asked if I might talk with her again. We went over the same ground. Suddenly she leaned forward across the table to Mrs. Str@nstad and in a whisper (as translated to me) said that she would tell her why she thought the putka were animate: “You must eat them within hours of gathering for they will soon stink like a cadaver.” She spoke under considerable emotion. We knew not what this meant but at once | jotted down her trans- lated words in my notebook and her remark appeared later, somewhat toned down, in the paper? that Heim and I published. My 1965 visit was followed by another with Heim in July- August 1967, he flying from Paris to Calcutta and I from New York. We started our quest in the Simlipal Hills and the village of Bisoi in Orissa, where the Santal and their close linguistic kin the Ho intermix, as well as several other peoples. Again we questioned the natives about why the purka were animate. In Nawana in the Simlipal Hills I spent the evening with Ganesh Ram Ho, the chief of the village. and he, as Ludgi Marndi had done, voluntered the information that there was an entheogenic mushroom, and his description tallied with Ludgi’s; his testi- mony confirmed that it was probably Srropharia cubensis or a close cousin. (That these two excellent informants volunteered to speak of an inebriating mushroom, doubtless Stropharia cubensis, is a lead not to be neglected: it may have played a part 229 in the cultural past of the Santal and of Soma.) But, just as before, it was “ud” and soulless. “Ud” is “mushroom” in Ho. We published the account of our trips to the Santal country in Les Cahiers du Pacifique, #14, September 1970. Kramrisch in time saw our paper and she grasped immediately that the putka of the Santal was the Purika of the Brahmanas, of the Pravargya sacrifice and the Mahavira pot.} The Putika had been the surro- gate for Soma and naturally it would possess a soul! Kramrisch deserves a rich accolade for discovering that Santali putka was a loan word from the Sanskrit Putika. When Soma was being abandoned, probably over a long period that ended shortly after B.C. 1000, the Putika took its place, not as an entheogenic drink like Soma in the earlier sacrifice but as a component with the clay in the ceremonial firing of the Mahavira vessel. Its stench (of which Ludgi Marndi had spoken) was turned into fragrance when the pot, held by tongs, was fired in the course of the rite. No one had ever known what plant it was. We now know that, like Soma, it was a mushroom, but a common mushroom, and it possessed divine qualities though less than Soma’s. * Ok In Santal culture not only is the putka animate, endowed with a soul: it possesses another of Soma’s attributes. The belief is apparently universal among the Santal that the purka is gener- ated by (mythological) thunderbolts.’ Long after the Brahmans have lost any use for or knowledge of this mushroom, and have lost all special contact with the Santal, these hunble, hardwork- ing people, untouchables, still believe that the purka is pro- created by the lightningbolt, as the Vedic Brahmans believed that Soma was procreated by the Vajra of Indra, or Parjanya, the god of lightning. Here is another manifestation, another proof, of the breathtaking cultural intensity millennia ago of the religion of the hierarchs of the Aryans. The lightningbolt was thought of as the sperm, the spunk, fecundating the soft mother earth with the entheogenic mushrooms. The Santal believe there are two kinds of purka, the hor putka and the seta putka, one smooth and the other rough. Heim said the two kinds were merely different stages in the life cycle of the 230 one species. The hor putka is the “man putka,” not in the sense of male but of a human being, or of the “Santal” whom they naturally regard as par excellence the human being. The seta putka, which is rough, is the “dog putka,” the dog not being despised as it is in Hindu culture. A few of the Santal spoke to us of a third purka, the rote putka or “toad putka.” Most Santal did not recognize this term and of those who did, most could not say what kind of mushroom it meant. But when we were in Kathikund, a village in the Santal Parganas, we witnessed from our veranda a violent midday thunderstorm and within hours and then throughout the night a host of puffballs appeared on the plain before our bungalow. One of our Santal companions told us with assurance that these were indeed rove putka. In this instance the puffball was Lycoperdon pusillum but probably any other puffball coming in response to a thunder shower would be a rote putka. In short, the rote putka, which is not eaten by the Santal, is a false putka. ...The entheogenic mushrooms of which Ludgi Marndi and Ganesh Ran Ho had told us, probably Stropharia cubensis, are not putka: they are mrely ot’, or ud in the Ho’ language, enjoy no grammatical distinction in the lan- guages, and so far as I learned no distinction in folklore. But it is imperative that this be explored much further. Does its entheo- genic virtue account for the colored geometrical designs, end- lessly varied, that decorate the exteriors of many Santal houses? * Throughout our visits to the Santal country the people we spoke with said that pigs dug for the purka, thus confirming what the canonical Pali Commentary on the Udana says of sukara-maddava. But | was seeking a quotation and after returning to New York the Rev. Johannes Gausdal, a retired missionary living in Oslo, put me in touch with Mr. Gora Tudu., principal of Kaerabani High School, and we asked Mr. Tudu through Mr. Gausdal whether swine sought out the purka in the forest. Here is what he replied: Whether the pigs eat putka or not? In this case also | got some putka from the forests. | tried them on a few pigs—the old purka were not liked, but the new ones seemed to be delicacies of the 231 pigs. They ate them with relish. Also in the forest | found at several bushes where putka usually come up several marks of upturned earth, indicating that the pigs had been digging for the purka. [Letter in my Munda file] | was careful not to divulge the reason this question was being asked. There are a number of genera of underground fungi divided among scores of species, and | should be surprised if they all drew pigs but perhaps they do. Mr. Gausdal asked also about the smell of aging putka. Mr. Tudu replied, with unconscious humor: I collected some putka, both hor putka and seta putka, and put them in dishes in dry condition as well as wet, just to see what the smell would be like after decomposition. In both the smell emitted was that of decomposing wood material, not at all bad in the sense of any blooded being. The smell was never too strong or filthy. The worst I could compare, the smell was that of rotting jute in muddy water. Kramrisch tells me that rotting jute in muddy water creates a fearful stench. Mr. Tudu possesses the endearing quality of dirt farmers everywhere: their fondness for the smell of dung heaps, for example, is powerfully colored by what dung means for the crops. The earthy smells of farm yards also possess a likeable integrity. The Gausdal-Gora Tudu correspondence was conducted in Santali, but my questions and his answers to them were in English. *x* ok We know that the Santal have not always lived where they do now. Six hundred years ago they lived to the west of Benares on the Chota Nagpur plateau, and tradition has it that long before then the Santal had lived much further to the West, just where no one knows, but possibly near the ancient center of Brahmani- cal sacrifices, where they could have had close relations with the Aryans, perhaps serving them before and through the shift from Soma to the Putika. This would also explain the other Sanskrit words in Santali that Mr. Bodding notes. Indeed he remarks in 232 his preface to his Santal Dictionary that “the description of the Dasyus in the Vedas and the Mahabharata seems to be adaptable to many a Santal.” IT] THE DEATH OF THE BUDDHA Having completed the Santal interpolation, we will now revert to the text of the Digha Nikava as translated by the Rhys Davidses. After the discussion of the swkara-maddava, the Rhys Davids translation continues with an astonishing development: para. 20. Now when the Exalted One had eaten the rice prepared by Cunda, the worker in metals, there fell upon him a dire sick- ness, the disease of dysentery, and sharp pain came upon him, even unto death. But the Exalted One, mindful and self-possessed. bore it without complaint. [Chap. IV] This was a disconcerting turn of events, since the Omniscient One has but lately said that he sees no one, save a Tathagata, who can properly assimilate the swkara-maddava, which he has just eaten. If the circumstances were invented, as Bareau thinks, what a Strange set of circumstances for utterly devoted followers of the Buddha to have invented! The mushrooms, now that we know precisely, were sound and there was never a risk: more- over, aged Putika would declare their age by their stench! And Cunda was a responsible man to buy and cook them. However, let us remember that in the upper Hindu castes where the Bud- dha had been brought up and lived out all his early life, even though he was now free from food tabus and caste distinctions, all mushrooms would be shunned as inedible; but here, at a critical moment of his life, he was being offered Putika. Did Cunda know the role of the Purika in the religion of the twice- born castes? Did he perhaps know it by rumor, inaccurately? Or did he not know it at all and was he serving these mushrooms solely for the excellent reason that they were fresh and in season? It is clear from the testimony of the Digha Nikaya that the Pa attack suffered by the Buddha was sudden: it was violent; it alarmed the whole company; it was virtually over quickly, for not long afterward the Buddha instructed the faithful Ananda that they should walk on to Kusinara close by. But what could be more natural than a violent reaction in one brought up as a ksatriva to consider mushrooms inedible? And with his large intestine being chronically inflamed with dysentery, his diar- rhoea was a natural sequence. “Dysentery” is a translation of the Pali lohita-pakkhandika, which means “bloody flux” in old- fashioned English. The account in the Digha Nikava is as though written to order for this explanation. Two quatrains, apparently independent of each other, are inserted in the text of the Digha Nikava (para. 20, p. 139) at this point. Buddhaghosa adds a note: “It should be understood that these are the verses by the Theras [Elders] who held the Council”— the Council that took place at Rajagrha, at which some months later the initial plans were laid for mobiliz- ing detailed recollections of the Buddha’s teachings and for organizaing the Buddhist religion. The first quatrain shows how those present murmured against Cunda, and, according to the second, there was also murmuring about the mushrooms. Here are the quatrains in the Rhys Davids translation: When he had eaten Cunda’s food, The copper-smith’s— thus have | heard He bore with fortitude the pain, The sharp pain even unto death. * Ok When he had eaten, from the mushrooms [=sukara-maddava] in the food There fell upon the Teacher sickness dire, Then after nature was relieved the Exalted One announced and said: | now am going on to Kusinara. After the episode the Exalted One went out of his way to exon- erate Cunda of blame, thus making even more tenable my explanation of his illness. For if Cunda had been guilty of negli- 234 gence in choosing the mushrooms, why should the Omniscient One have exonerated him? 42. And the Fxalted One addressed the venerable Ananda, and said: “Now it may happen, Ananda, that some one should stir up remorse in Cunda the smith, by saying:— “This is evil to thee, Cunda, and loss to thee in that when the Tathagata had eaten his last meal from thy provision, then he died.” Any such remorse, Ananda, in Cunda the smith should be checked by saving:— “This is good to thee, Cunda, and gain to thee. in that when the Tatha- gata had eaten his last meal from thy provision, then he died.” From the very mouth of the Exalted One, Cunda,. have | heard, from his own mouth have I received this saving:— “These two offerings of food are of equal fruit, and of equal profit and of much greater fruit and much greater profit than any other— and which are the two? The offering of food which, when a Tathagata has eaten, he attains to supreme and perfect insight: and the offer- ing of food which, when a Tathagata has eaten, he passes away by that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind these two offerings of food are of equal fruit and of equal profit, and of much greater fruit and much greater profit than any others. There has been laid up by Cunda the smith a karma redounding to length of life, redounding to good birth, redound- ing to good fortune, redounding to good fame, redounding to the inheritance of heaven, and of sovereign power.” ‘In this way, Ananda, should be checked any remorse in Cunda the smith.’ (p. 147-8) * «Ok Bareau concedes that Cunda and Pava may be original ele- ments but, if so, thinks that they are the sole original elements in the narrative of the Buddha’s stay in Pava: Deux sitcles apres le Parinirvana, ces deux noms, ici Pava et Cunda, étaient les deux seuls éléments anciens, peut-étre méme historiques, de |’episode du dernier repas du Buddha. Aucun souvenier n’avait donc été conservé ni des incidents qui avaient pu s’v produire ni de la nature précise des aliments qui avaient été servis alors au Bienheureux. [Tome I, p 258 in his Recherches sur la biographie du Buddha, Ecole Frangcaise d’Extréme Orient] Perhaps in the light of our discoveries Bareau may grant more to the history of the Buddha’s Last Meal in Pava as told in the Digha Nikava. Too many had witnessed the episode with the i) ws) o) mushrooms to permit the Theras to suppress it: his sudden illness had provoked too much talk. * * x Here is the account of the Buddha’s death according to the Digha Nikava, Chap. V. 1. Now the Exalted One addressed the venerable Ananda, and said: ‘Come, Ananda, let us go on to the Sala Grove of the Mallas. the Upavattana of Kusinara. on the further side of the river Hiranyavatt.’ ‘Even so, lord!’ said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Exalted One. And the Exalted One proceeded with a great company of brethren to the Sala Grove of the Mallas, the Upavattana of Kusi- nara, on the further side of the river Hiranyavati; and when he had come there he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said: ‘Spread over for me, | pray you, Ananda, the couch with its head to the north, between the twin Sala trees. | am weary, Ananda, and would lie down.’ ‘Even so, lord!’ said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Exalted One. And he spread a covering over the couch with its head to the north, between the twin Sala trees. And the Exalted One laid himself down on his right side, with one leg resting on the other; and he was mindful and self-possessed. In a note on this passage the Sinhala commentator added an explanation: Tradition says that there was a row of Sala trees at the head of that couch, and another at its foot, one young Sala tree being close to its head, and another close to its foot. The twin Sala trees were so called because the two trees were equally grown in respect of the roots, trunks, branches, and leaves. There was a couch there in the park for the special use of the (periodically elected) chieftain of the Mallas, and it was this couch which the Exalted One asked Ananda to make ready. (Ftnt. p. 149) In the last watch of the night the Buddha died, precisely as he had been predicting for three months, since he was in Vai’sall. There have been individuals in various parts of the world, and especially among the holy men of India, who have acquired by “concentration” (samadhi) control over some of the muscles that ordinarily function in response to stimuli beyond the human 236 will. A.L. Basham has remarked on this in The Wonder That Was India, p. 327: The ancient mystical physiology of India needs further study, not only by professional Indologists, but by open-minded biologists and psychologists, who may reveal the true secret of the yogi. For whatever we may think about his spiritual claims there is no doubt that the advanced yogi can hold his breath for very long periods without suffering injury, can control the rhythm of his own heart- beats, can withstand extremes of heat and cold, can remain healthy ona starvation diet, and, despite his austere and frugal life and his remarkable physical contortions, which would ruin the system of any ordinary man, can often survive to a very advanced age with full use of his faculties. Basham fails to mention that occasionally death is the goal of this “concentration,” but there is no reason to question that death can be the purpose of such an act of will. In recent years, when death has been the end result of this manifestation of will power, mahasamadhi has sometimes been the term used when speaking of it. The Buddha predicted the day of his death three months before and thenceforward announced freely the time and place of his own extinction. After his Last Meal the narrative says that on his initiative he walked the distance to Kusinara. Since the time of his death, no Hindu, no Buddhist, has ever suggested that he died of mushroom poisoning. His death has not pro- voked discussion among Buddhists. Knowing as we now do what the mushrooms were that Cunda served, they could have provoked a stomach upset in a Hindu mycophobe but they could not have caused his death. He died of his own will power, of his own mahasamadhi. Or, rather than provoking his own death, did he not use yogic power, under trying circumstances, to postpose his translation to nirvana until he had reached his place of choice? * * The surrogate for Soma explains and justifies the extraordi- nary words used by the Buddha in limiting to himself alone this dish. By consigning to a hole the surplus Purika, he showed himself familiar with its everyday properties. Now that we know 2x7 the precise properties of this mushroom, its etymology as cog- nate with “putrid” is clarified? and its strong link with Soma is a good explanation for the Santal belief that it is generated by the divine lightningbolt. Up to this point we have concentrated on only one source- the canonical Pali Text of the Digha Nikava—for our details about the life of Buddha. It is the Holy Scripture of the Thera- vadin branch of Buddhism with its headquarters in Sri Lanka. There are, in addition, five other master recensions of his life, four in Chinese and one in Sanskrit. All five mention the stop in Pava and name Cunda as the host there. but none of them mentions sukara-maddava. An abvious explanation for this omission is that the Chinese are natural mycophiles: they eat with relish all kinds of edible mushrooms and they know their mushrooms. They would not understand why the Buddha honored the Putika, saying he alone could digest it. For the Chinese all this would have been incomprehensible. The Buddha and his followers were mostly Hindus of the upper castes who had withdrawn from obedience to the Hindu religion. When the Theras assembled at Rajagrja, they were inevitably, even if they were rebels, heirs to the infinite complex- ity of habits, practices, subtle ways of thinking and feeling of the Brahmanic religion. When Buddhism became a world religion, it liberated itself from the Brahmanic religion and this included the mightly tradition of Soma and the Vedic hymns, and of course from the less powerful hold of the Putika. In the early days of Christianity, before it became a world religion, the pull of Jew- ish ways such as circumcision and the ban on pig-meat exerted influence on Jewish converts to Christianity, and the early Church faced a parallel conflict. IV THE BUDDHA’S LAST MEAL The episode at Pava lends itself to various explanations; the written record contains a number of anomalies. If we were to offer the solution that we think is most likely, here it is. 238 There is only the Commentary on the Udana, which Bud- dhaghosa presented as hearsay, to show that Cunda the ’sudra knew of the use made by the Brahmans of the Purika. Cunda certainly knew this mushroom as a universal favorite among mushroom eaters when it was in season and it was in season right then: he was taken aback when the Buddha recognized the mushroom and asked him, in astonishing language unfamiliar to his ears, to serve them to the Buddha only. Cunda had done himself proud in assembling mushrooms for the whole com- pany, and now he was forbidden to give them to the guests or even to himself. Shortly after the Buddha had eaten his mushrooms with rice he fell violently ill. This must have caused Cunda consternation and chagrin. Alarm was felt, and there was murmuring against Cunda and the mushrooms tn the assembly, for all or almost all were twice-born men and had been indoctrinated against mush- rooms. We can imagine Cunda’s embarrassment but we have no information: an opaque cloud of silence falls over him. In the Digha Nikava the Buddha exonerates Cunda, some- what stiltedly under the circumstances. Perhaps everyone re- membered that the Buddha had spoken up for Cunda and many had heard him but none could recall what precisely he had said. Someone seems to have drafted the paragraph much later. The fitting exoneration of Cunda demonstrated the thoughtfulness and the nobility of the Buddha under most trying circumstances. Was not “suwkara-maddava” introduced in place of Purtika at Rajagrha to avoid confusing people as to the Buddha’s attitude toward the Old Religion? He showed an attitude toward the Putika, and he reacted to them, in a way that we today, under the circumstances, can understand for the first time. And as for the diverse explanations in the two canonical Commentaries for Sukara-maddava, they may have been intro- duced at Rajaghra also, or perhaps more likely late in Ashoka’s reign when the need for an explanation became increasingly felt by the Buddhist community. No theological importance was ever given, then or later, to the Pava episode because, after all, the Buddha was under acute stress at the time, what with his illness, his imminent extinction freely predicted since he was in 239 Vai'sali three months before the episode at Pava, and the unex- pected dish of Purika that suddenly confronted him. There had been far too much talk among those present to suppress the episode, but obviously the Putika was not to be identified plainly. The swkara-maddava was a way to tell the truth but still to interpose obstacles to its understanding. The word may have been a neologism invented ad hoc. Now we see for the first time in how dramatic a predicament the Brahman proscription on mushrooms for the twice-born castes accidentally involved the Buddhist religion at the very moment of its birth. We still do not know—we will probably never know—when that proscription came into force, perhaps over centuries while the Vedic hymns were being composed, or possibly when the hierarchs among the Brahmans learned of the entheogenic virtues of Stropharia cubensis as known to the lower orders living in India, or when Soma was finally aban- doned and the Putika adopted as its surrogate. But we do know how effectively the Buddhist Theras fudged the facts in the Digha Nikaya, until an inquirer 2,500 years after the event appeared, assembled the evidence, and with the help of Georg Morgenstierne, Roger Heim, Stella Kramrisch, Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, and above all of the Santal people, fitted together the jigsaw pieces. Vv THE INDUS VALLEY AND KASHMIR When we published SOMA Divine Mushroom of Immortality in 1968 I pointed out in it that in the 1028 hymns of the RgVeda there was never a mention of the blossoms, fruit, seed, leaves, branches, bark, or roots of the plant—a telling clue where to look for the divine herb. But there was another botanical fact that deserved full recognition, but I had not yet focused on it. Botanists divide plants between phanerogams and crypto- gams. The phanerogams include all flower- and seed-bearing plants, whether trees, shrubs, creepers or climbers, herbs and 240 grasses, whether cultivated or uncultivated. The cryptogams are lower orders of vegetation, less developed along the evolution- ary trail, and the mushrooms are the cryptogams that interest us. Only in recent centuries have three or four species out of thou- sands lent themselves to commercial exploitation, and a meager handful also to expensive cultivation in laboratories. In Aryan times, in the Indus Valley and Kashmir, there was the widest variety of climate, owing to the variety of accidented terrain therein—lofty mountains, low lying plains, valleys, wetlands, arid stretches—and any needed phanerogam could probably have been grown in some part of that large country. But only those mushrooms grew there that the country produced spon- taneously. Since we know that the supply of Soma was limited at best to the mountains and must have been further reduced when the monsoon failed, conforming to what we know about Soma in Vedic times, this points to the entheogenic mushroom A man- ita muscaria for their Soma. That the birch and also the conifers act as hosts to A. muscaria was not realized by anyone among the Aryans, and therefore no one thought of planting the host trees to see whether by this means man could thus increase the yield of the holy plant. Other fungal entheogens grow at the lower levels. They come in cattle dung, are easily identified and gathered, and are effec- tive. But they fail to conform to Brahman practices: they are known to tribals and ’sudras. Soma on the other hand exacts self-discipline of the priests, a long initiation and training: it is, for proper exploitation, an affair of a priestly é/ite. But the possible role of Stropharia cubensis growing in the dung of cattle in the lives of the lower orders remains to this day wholly unexplored. Is S. cubensis responsible for the elevation of the cow to a sacred status? And for the inclusion of the urine and dung of cows in the paficagavya? And was that a contributing reason for abandoning Soma? Given the ecological conditions prevailing in the Indus Valley and Kashmir. only a few of the Aryans could know by personal experience the secrets of the Divine Herb. The cult of Soma must have been shaped by the 241 peculiar circumstances prevailing in the area, but ultimately those circumstances must have doomed that cult. Today it lives on in India only as an intense and glowing memory of an ancient rite. Under the British Raj the rich and diverse vegetation of India was admirably studied, and George Watt’s encyclopaedia Dic- tionary of the Economic Products of India, 1889-1896, in eleven volumes, edited and partly written by him, is a major legacy of the British rule in India. However, the mycophobic British did little to advance knowledge of mycology, and the Hindus nothing. No one ever suggested a mushroom for Soma, let alone A. mus- caria. Our SOMA came out in 1968 but no A. muscaria since then has yet been found in Pakistan or Kashmir: there have been numerous reports of finds but voucher specimens have not been deposited in herbaria. Dr. Roy Watling, mycologist of the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, spent three weeks in the field in 1978 on a general survey of the Kashmir area, in the vicinity of Srinagar. He collected in stands of birch in two areas but he arrived there late in the growing season and moreover the season was dry. In his printed report* he writes, “The species A. musca- ria is almost certainly native to the Betu/a-zone of northern India.” There he found Betula utilis from 9,000 feet up to the timber line at 10,500 feet but no A. muscaria. In the Northwest- ern Himalayas the birch grows intermixed with Rhododendron in scrub-vegetation up to 11,500 feet. We may think we are feeling the frustrations of the Aryans but by comparison with them we are making only lackadaisical efforts to find a few voucher specimens, whereas the Brahmans must have developed urgent need for quantities of fruiting bodies to dry, and then to reflate, and bring to the pressing stones. Their needs must have been constantly increasing with the increasing population. Whatever may have been the case later, the relations at first with the natives were surely hostile. The natives seem to have come to occupy the intermediate mountain heights, precisely where A. muscaria grows and where the RgVeda time and again says Soma grows. As we know from the ‘Satapatha Brahmana, the Brahmans depended for their 242 Soma supplies, in large part at least, on the natives living in the mountains. The supply depended on the weather and the state of the relations with the natives, whereas the needs were swelling with every generation. The Brahmans must have found it in their interest to cultivate the Dasyus and the Dasyus would have found it advantageous to discover every spot where A. muscaria grew, above all the stands of birch but also other host trees. (A. muscaria has been reported lately from Tamilnadu, especially from the Nilgiri Hills, in Southern India, but its presence there has been attributed by mycologists to plantings of exotic conif- ers in the past century.) Most of the Soma sacrifices must have used make-do phanerogamic subtitutes and in the post-Vedic Brahmanas and other writings we learn how the priests from early times faced this scarcity with such make-do plants. The Brahmans probably continued to trade with the moun- tains of Afghanistan seeking Soma, and with the Hindu Kush, but there is no knowing whether these tribesmen were friendly, perhaps intermittently. The Afghanistan Journal 6.2 1979 an- nounced the finding of A. muscaria in Nuristan, in the Shetul Valley high in the Hindu Kush in the extreme northeast of the country. The authors, Gholam Mochtar and Hartmut Geerken of Kabul, talked with three old codgers, ostensibly habitues of the “ravens’ bread,” claimed to be A. muscaria from which an inebriating concoction is made. The episode is insufficiently documented to permit conclusions about its bearing on Amanita muscaria and the Soma questions. Their report antedates the Russian invasion. The use of substitutes by the Aryans must have been a reluc- tantly adopted practice from the start. They are mentioned for the first time in the last batch of hymns incorporated into the canon, Mandala X 85 through to the end, 191. In SOMA we failed to take into consideration these hymns of Mandala X, since they were admitted to the canon at a late stage, shortly before the Vedic age ended. But some years ago Professor Clif- ford Wright, in a lecture delivered at Cambridge University, took the position that many of those hymns, the last to be admit- ted to the canon, on strong stylistic grounds were by no means 243 the last to be composed. There is a verse in these hymns that speaks of the substitutes. That hymn may well have been com- posed centuries earlier: RgeVeda X 85.3: One thinks one drinks Soma because a plant is . crushed. The Soma that the Brahmans know that no one drinks. This conforms to our present thinking: the scarcity of Soma was not to be explained by the spread of the Aryans southward, then eastward down the Yamuna and beyond the confluence with the Ganges. The scarcity had always existed, and the make-do sub- stitutes had been a chronic problem. MEMORANDUM BY WALPOLA RAHULA OF THE EARLY SOURCES FOR THE MEANING OF SUKARAMADDAVA SUKARAMADDAVA The original Canonical Pali passage from the Mahaparinibbanasutta of the Dighanikayva, Pali Text Society edition (London 1966), Vol. II, p. 127: Atha kho Cundo kammaraputto tassa rattigya accayena sake nivesane panitam khadaniyam bhojaniyam patiyadapetva pahu- tanca sukaramaddavam Bhagavato kalam arocapesi: ‘Kalo bhante, nitthitam bhattan’t. Translation: Then at the end of that night. Cunda, the smith, having made ready in his house hard and soft delicious food, and also a big quantity of Swkaramaddava, announced the time to the Exalted One, saying: “The time, Lord, has come, the meal is ready.’ In explaining sukaramaddava in this passage the Pali Commen- tary of the Dighanikaya, sumangalavilasini, Pali Text Society ed. (London 1971), Vol. II, p. 568, gives three different opinions: 244 Sukaramaddavan ti n ‘atitarunassa n ‘atijinnassa ekajetthakasuka- rassa pavattamamsam. Tam kira mudufi c’eva siniddhafi ca hoti. Tam patiyadapetva sadhukam pacapetva'ti attho. (Colombo ed. of the “Sumangalavilasini. Part 1, (1918) p. 395 adds within brackets): [Eke bhananti: sukaramaddavam pana muduodanassa paficago- rasa— yusapacanavidhanassa namam etan'ti yatha gavapanam nama pakanamam. Keci bhananti: sukaramaddavam nama rasayanavidhi, tam pana rasayanasatthe agacchati, tam Cundena Bhagavato parinibbanam na bhaveyya'ti rasayanam patiyattan ti] Translation: Sukaramaddava means meat available (in the market) of an excel- lent (first-rate) pig neither too young nor too old. This is soft and fatty. ‘Having made it ready’: having cooked it well is the sense. (Some say: sukaramaddava is the name fora culinary preparation of soft rice made into a broth with the five products of the cow', just as gavapana is the name of a culinary preparation. Others say: sukaramaddava is a chemical preparation [elixir]. It is found in the science of chemistry. That chemical preparation [elixir] was made by Cunda thinking that the parinibbana of the Exalted One might not take place.) The story of Cunda offering suwkaramaddava to the Buddha occurs exactly in the same way in another canonical Pali text, Udana. The Paramatthajotika, Commentary on the Udana (Colombo 1920), p. 279, in explaining swkaramaddava gives four different opinions: Sukaramaddavan’ti sukarassa mudusiniddham pavattamamsan'ti Mahaatthakathavam vuttam. Keci pana sukaramaddavan'ti na sukaramamsam, sukarehi madditavamsakaliro’ti vadanti. Afifie: sukarehi madditappadese jatam ahicchattan'ti. Apare pana suka- ramaddavam nama ekam rasayanan’ti bhanimsu. Tafi hi Cundo kammaraputto ajja Bhagava parinibbayissati’ ti sutva ‘appeva na- ma nam paribhufijitva cirataram tittheyya’ ti Satthu cirajivituka- myataya adasi'ti vadanti. I. Five products of the cow: 1) milk, 2) curd, 3) buttermilk, 4) fresh butter 5) clarified butter (ghee). W.R. [Walpola Rahula i 1s a Buddhist monk of our day and he renders in English t the Sanskrit word pancagavya as befits our times. In the past, for millennia pancagavva represented: 1) milk, 2) coagulated or sour milk, 3) butter, 4) urine, and 5) dung. R.G.W.] 245 Translation: It is said in the Great Commentary (Mahaarthakathay that sukaramaddava is soft and fatty pork (flesh of pig) available (in the market). But some say: sukaramaddava does not mean pork (flesh of pig), but bamboo shoot (bamboo sprout) trodden by pigs: others say that it is mushroom grown on a spot trodden by pigs: still others have maintained that swkaramaddava is a certain elixir. They say that Cunda, the smith, having heard that the Fxalted One would attain parinibhana that day (lit.. today) thought that it would be good if He could live longer after eating this (preparation), and offered it wishing the Master’s longevity. EPILOGUE When | began working with Gordon Wasson on SOMA, almost twenty years ago, we had, at first. no suspicion that Soma might have been a mushroom: we just wished to collect the texts relating to Soma and look at them with a botanical as well as an Indological eye. It was only when I casually men- tioned to RGW the urine-drinking, Soma-drinking episode in the Mahabharata that he thought of Amanita muscaria as a possible identity for Soma, but from that moment on he became increasingly convinced that this was the case. I was certain that the evidence proved Soma was an entheogen (we called it an hallucinogen then), and that it was not a form of alcohol (as had been theretofore widely believed) but was a drug provoking an ecstasy of a very special kind. Here is a truth of great importance in the study of later Indian religion and this was the major contribution that RGW had made to Vedic studies. I was, however, not yet convinced that Soma was a mush- room. I felt that the arguments rested primarily on the interpretation of adjectives, many of them words for colors, and mythological traits, many of which applied to other gods as well. 2. The Mahaatthakatha (Great Commentary) is the most important of the ancient original Sinhala commentaries dating back at least to the 3rd century B.C.. on which are based the present available Pali commentaries of the Sth century A.C., including the Commentaries on the Dighanikava and the Udana from which these two commentarial passages are taken. WLR. 246 permitting other interpretations as well as the interpretation that identified Soma with the fly-agaric. As an Indologist, rather than a botanist, I still feel that the broader hypothesis—that Soma was an entheogen is more significant than the narrower one— that it was a mushroom. Over the vears, however, the new evidence that RGW has brought to light. particularly the evi- dence linking the Buddha’s last meal to Soma through the dou- ble links of the Vedic Purika and the Santal purka, does in fact make it seem likely that Soma was a mushroom, as RGW believed from the first moment, and, when we recall the religious role of urine mentioned above, specifically the fly-agaric. But each of the three levels of the hypothesis—that Soma was an entheogen, a mushroom, and the fly-agaric— adds valuable dimensions to our understanding of both Vedic and post-Vedic religion. Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty Chicago January 15, 1982 NOTES 1. 1896 and earlier, Karl Fugen Newmann: Die Reden Gotamo Buddho’s aus des Mittleren Sammlung Majjhimanikavo des Pali-Kanons, Leipsig, 1896, pp. XIX-Xxi. Neumann cites earlier writers: Friedrich Zimmermann, who in turn refers to an article in the Journal of the Maha- Bodhi Society, Vol. 1. No. vill, pp. 2-3, Calcutta, 1892, wherein the editor of this Journal reproduces statements by “Rhys Davids. Bigandet. Rockhill. and Colonel Olcott,” laying stress on the proper meaning of suAara-maddava. We have seen none of these earlier discussions. 1910. T. Wo. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids. and later editions. Dialogues of the Buddha: Part I. Translated from the Pali of the Digha Nikava by T. W. and C.A.F. Rhys Davids. One of the series of the Sacred Books of the Buddhists. Published for the Pali Text Society by Luzac. London. (All of our quotations from the Digha Nikava are from the 1959 edition.) 1916. Coomaraswamy, Ananda K.: Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism. p. 79.. George G. Harrap. London. 1931-2. Arthur Waley. “Did Buddha die of eating pork?” Melanges chinois et houddhiques, Vol. 1... pp. 343-354. Brussels. 247 1942. Fa Chow. “Sukara—maddava and the Buddha’s Death.” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Edited by R. N. Dandekar. pp. 127-133. 1948. E. Waldschmidt. Beitrage zur Textgeschichte des Mahaparinirvanasu- ira, pp. 63-85: “Die Letzte Mahlzeit des Buddha.” 1948. E. J. Thomas. /ndian Culture, XV. pp. 1-3: “Buddha’s Last Meal.” 1949. A. Foucher. La Vie du Bouddha. Paris, Payot, pp. 304-308: “Le Dern- ier repas a Pava.” 1968. André Bareau. “La Nourriture offerte au Buddha lors de son dernier repas,” Mélanges d'Indianisme, Paris, Editions E. de Boccard, pp. 61-71. 1970. André Bareau. Recherches sur la biographie du Buddha. Tome 1. Notably Chapter VII 8 & 9, pp. 251-281. Paris. Ecole Frangcaise d°Extréme- Orient, Vol. LXXVII. 1970. P. Demiéville. Review of R. Gordon Wasson: SOMA: Divine Mush- room of Immortality. Toung Pao, LVI: Livr. 4-5, pp. 298-302. E.J. Brill, Leiden. This list does not pretend to be exhaustive. 2. See note I, entry under 1910, p. 137 ftnt. 3. Stella Kramrisch: “The Mahavira Vessel and the Plant Putika,.” JAOS, 95.2, April-June 1975. 4. See Manfred Mayrhofer: A Concise Sanskrit Etymological Dictionary, entry under putikah, also Vol. 3, p. 761. 5. Cahiers du Pacifique #14, September 1970: “Les putka des Santals, champignons doués d'une 4me.” p. 77. For those interested, the mushroom was Scleroderma hyvdrometrica (Pers.) H. var. maculata (Pat.) H. In Europe it breaks out into an Astraeus, but in India remains closed, a Scleroderma. 6. Idem, p. 65. 7. Idem, p. 64 bottom of page; SOMA: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, pp. 39-40. 8. Watling, Roy and Norman M. Gregory: “Larger Fungi from Kashmir,” Nova Hedwigia, Band XXXII, Brunswick, 1980, J. Cramer. 248 For those interested in our side of the controversy over Soma, we list the following items as essential: 1. SOMA: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, by R. Gordon Wasson and Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty. 1968. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.. New York. 2. “Les putka des Santals, champignons doués d’une Ame.” by Roger Heim and R. Gordon Wasson. September 1970. Cahiers du Pacifique #14, pp. 60-85. With I1 plates, 5 in color; 5 figures and one map in text. 3. “The Soma of the RigVeda: What Was It?” Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 91, No. 2, April-June 1971, pp. 169-187. Published along with Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Wales Professor of Sanskrit, Harvard University: “Remarks on Mr. Wasson’s SOMA” in the same issue of the Journal. Both papers were reprinted by the American Oriental Society as No. 7 in their Essay Series with an introduction by Ernest Bender, Editor of the Journal.) Trans- lated into Spanish and published in Plura/, Mexico City, in Jan.-Feb. issues, 1976. 4. Soma and the Fly-agaric: Mr. Wasson’s Rejoinder to Professor Brough, by R. Gordon Wasson. Nov. 1972. Botanical Museum of Harvard University. Cambridge, Mass. 5. “The Mahavira Vessel and the Plant Putika,” by Stella Kramrisch. Jour- nal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 95.2, 1975. pp. 222-235. 6. “SOMA Brought Up-to-date,” by R. Gordon Wasson. JAOS 99.1, 1979. Also appeared afterward in the Botanical Museum Leaflets, Vol. 26, No. 6. 7. “The Last Meal of the Buddha,” by R. Gordon Wasson, with “Epilogue” by Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, /AOS 102.4, 1982. This paper is reprinted with permission from the Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1982(4): Oct. Dec. 249 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 3 SUMMER 1983 DE PLANTIS TOXICARIIS E MUNDO NOVO TROPICALE COMMENTATIONES XXXII NOTES, PRIMARILY OF FIELD TESTS AND NATIVE NOMENCLATURE, ON BIODYNAMIC PLANTS OF THE NORTHWEST AMAZON RICHARD EVANS SCHULTES Field work to salvage ethnobotanical knowledge in the north- west Amazon has not been commensurable with the rapidity of the disappearance of this folklore asa result of growing accultura- tion. Many native languages of the region are becoming extinct, and the natives, knowing no Spanish names for their plants, are losing even their acquaintance with the local flora. This paper, a continuation of numerous ethnobotanical contributions on the plants of the northwest Amazon, offers a number of native names of plants of this rich flora. During several of my trips to the Amazon area, spot field tests were made on plants for alkaloids. Most of these plants have never been chemically studied; in fact, many of the genera and even families of these plants are phytochemically unknown. While spot tests, especially those conducted under field condi- tions, are initial, exploratory and often crudely carried out, they do offer—especially with the paucity of phytochemical knowl- edge of sucha rich, yet poorly known, flora—leads which may be of help to investigators interested in the chemical constituents of plants and their possible biodynamic significance. The voucher specimens cited below are preserved in one or more of the following institutions: the Economic Herbarium of Oakes Ames or the Gray Herbarium, both of Harvard University, in the Herbario Nacional de Colombia in Bogota; or in the New York Botanical Garden. 251 To several of my colleagues who have made available data, | express my deep appreciation: Professor Robert F. Raffauf, Mr. Melvin Shemluck and Dr. James L. Zarucchi. The families are arranged in accord with the Engler-Prant! system, and the genera are listed alphabetically under the families. POLYPODIACEAE Polypodium glaucophyllum K/orzsch in Linnaea 20: (1847) 393. FCUApor: Provincia Pastaza, Rio Chicd, village of Rio Chicé and vicinity, August 1979. Shemluck et Nees 203. According to the collectors, this scandent fern was used for- merly when there was no salt; the leaves are very sweet and are employed to flavour monkey meat. The plant is also valued medicinally, used “when sick so blood does not dry up.” The Kechwa name ts catchi-panga. PALMAE Mauritiella cataractarum Dugand in Rev. Acad. Col. Cienc. 8 (1951) 385. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés. Rio Apaporis, Soratama. “In clumps, 5-10 together. Stems devoid of spines. Fruit ripens brown, smaller than usual spe- cies.” June 21, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12792. An oil boiled from the ripe fruits is employed to relieve pain from sprains: it is rubbed warm on the affected muscle. The Puinave name is kee. The Kuripako Indians call the tree ka-da-na -ree-pe. It is probable that the oil from the fruits of other species of Mauritiella as well as those of Mauritia are similarly used. COMMELINACEAE Geogenanthus ciliatus Brickner in Notizbl. 11 (1931) 224. ECUADOR: Provincia de Pastaza, Rio Chicé, village of Rio Chicé, August 1979, Shemluck et Ness 166, The Kechwa name of this plant is supi-panga. According to the collectors, the leaf is patted on the buttocks of one suffering from flatulence. M ARANTACEAE Calathea altissima (P. er E.) Koernicke in Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. 35, pt. 1 (1862) 141. CorombiaA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. “Flower cream- coloured.” December 14. 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14909. The Karapana Indians of the Rio Kananari crush the leaves of this abundant plant to make a poultice for drying up festering sores. Calathea cyclophora Baker in Kew Bull. (1895) 18. CoLtomBiaA: Comisaria del Vaupés. Rio Vaupés, Cachivera de Tatu. Schultes. Raffauf et Soejarto 24372. Rio Kuduyari, Yapoboda. June 25, 1958. Garcia- Barriga, Schultes et Blohin 15868. A decoction of the underground parts of this plant is given orally to counteract effects from snake bite. Calathea Veitchiana Hooker fil., Bot. Mag. 91 (1865) t. 5535. Pert: Departamento de Loreto, Rio Nanay, Chiriara. “Herb 1.2 m. tall in forest. Leaf dark green above with light green markings along midrib and margin: reddish purple benath; pulvinus pale greenish brown. Ped uncle reddish; floral bract pale green above, red beneath. Flowers white.” February 28, 1969. Plowman et Tina 2572. The name of this plant in Peru is reported to be pu/ma. Accord- ing to the collectors, it is “mixed with ayahuasca [ Banisteriopsis] to see visions.” Ishnosiphon obliquus (Rudge) Koernicke in Nouv. Mem. Sie: Nat. Mosc. I1 (1859) 341. Cotompia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Amazonas, vicinity of Leticia. “Height 12 feet. Nether surface of leaves whitish. Flowers yellow, calyces reddish.” August 29 September 12, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24019. All parts of this plant are alkaloid-negative witha Dragendorff spot-test. PIPERACEAE Peperomia glabella (Sw.) A. Dietrich var. melanostigma Dahi- stedt in Kgl. Sv. Vet. Akad. Hand]. 33, pt. 2 (1900) 122. 253 COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo. Schultes et Smith 2059. This herb is a presumed remedy for conjunctivitis. In the Colombian Putumayo, it is widely employed in the form of a tea and baths to relieve this most common ailment. The Spanish name of the plant in the region is flor de mal; the Ingano name Is tre-gwen, givinan. MORACEAE Helicostylis scabra (Machr.) C.C. Berg in Acta Bot. Néerl. 18 (1969) 464. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Raudal de Yayacopi. “Enor- mous tree. Latex white. Fruit green, edible.” February 18, 1952. Schultes et Cahrera 15466. The Makuna call this tree meé-o and utilize the latex, which they maintain Is toxic, in alleviating cases of extreme intestinal parasitism. The latex is said to be bitter and is mixed with warm chicha. Very small doses must be taken. The Puinaves, who know the tree as han-shee-ma, do not utilize the latex as a vermifuge but value it as an anti-fungal agent when repeatedly painted and dried on infected parts of the skin. Helicostylis tomentosa (P. es £.) Rusby in Mem. Torr. Bot. Club 6 (1896) 120. CoromBia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Leticia. November 1948. Schultes et Lopez 10400). The latex of this tree is considered by Indians of the Leticia area to be toxic when ingested. Pseudolmedia laevigata 7recu/e in Ann. Sc. Nat., ser. 3, 8 (1847) 129, t. 5. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis. Soratama. “Fruit red, soft. Small tree.” February 4, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15147. A tea made from the young twigs of Pseudo/media laevigata is esteemed by the Indians of the middle Apaporis as an excellent stimulant of the appetite. No a) san PROTEACEAE Euplassa saxicola (R. E. Schult.) Stevermark in Fieldiana Bot. 28. no. | (1951) 217. Roupala saxicola R.E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl.. Harvard Univ. 13 (1949) 300, t. 33. CoromBia: Comisaria del Vaupés. Rio Macaya. Cerro Chiribiquete. “Small tree. Fruit vellow.” May 15-16, 1943. Schultes 5457. Amongst the Karijonas of the upper Rio Vaupés, the seeds of this small tree are considered to be toxic when ingested. Panopsis rubescens ( Poh/) Pittier, Contrib. Fl. Venez. 22 (1923) Zt: CoromBia: Comisaria de! Amazonas. Rio Amazonas, Soratama. “Small tree. Flowers white.” August 16. 1951. Schulies et Cabrera 13543. The leaves and stems of this tree are considered to be “medici- nal” by Indians of the middle Apaporis region, but the specific uses were not elucidated; use of the plant, however, is stated to be dangerous, since the plant has the reputation of being toxic. Panopsis is reported to be one of the genera of the Proteaceae which accumulates minerals (Hegnauer, R.: Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen 5 (1969) 410). OLACACEAE Heisteria Spruceana Fng/er in Martius, Fl. Bras. 12, pt. 2 (1872) ie CoLromBIA: Comisaria el Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Jinogoyé. “Small tree. Fruit yellow, Bracts red.” June 20, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16762. Amongst the Indians of the Rios Apaporis and Piraparana, this small tree is considered to be medicinal. Repeated applications of a warm, strong infusion of the leaves and branches are employed to reduce swelling and pain from sprains of the knees, ankles and wrists, In the Makuna language, the plant is called he-1a-soo-tee: in Puinave, choo-he-o0-it and kin-pep (“tree of the corocoro bird”): and in Tanimuka, wy-ee-na-go. BALANOPHORACEAE Helosis cayennensis (Sw.) Sprenge/, Sup|. 3 (1826) 765. CoL_oMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. November 1944. Schulres 6197. Same locality. October 1945. Schu/tes 6829.— Rio Boiauassu. October 29. 1946. Black et Schultes 46-241.—Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis. Raudal de Jeryyerimo. March 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 1209 1a. This saprophyte is known in the Leticia area of Colombia as cajamba. Inthe Vaupés of Colombia, the Indians believe that this plant, dried and pulverized, is an excellent styptic. In the Brazilian Amazon, the juice of the plant is considered to be astringent and styptic (LeCointe: A Amazonia Brasileira, Libraria Classica, Belem, Para 3 (1934) 157. MENISPERMACEAE Curarea tecunarum Barnehy et Krukoffin Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 2, pt. 22 (1971) 12. CoLromBiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu, Puerto Narifio, Lago Tarapoto. “Bejuco de unos 6 m. de longitud; tallo aplando con unos 3 cm. de ancho. Hoja de color verde en el haz y blanco en el envez de tamafio regular. Corteza de sabor amargo; nerviacion de la hoja en forma saliente.“ Diaz 1/36. This well known ingredient of curare is called taufe lleida by the Witoto Indians who, in the vicinity of Lago Tarapoto near the mouth of the Rio Loretoyacu, formerly mixed the bark and leaves with other unspecified plants in preparing the poison. In many regions, the species is employed for this purpose with no admixture. ANNONACEAE Guatteria Duckeana R. F. Fries in Acta Hort. Berg. 12(1939) 468. CoLromBiaA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Cachivera de Tatu. “Tree 45 feet. Flowers green.” October 10, 1966. Schulres, Raffauf et Soejarto 24377. All parts of this tree are strongly alkaloid positive with a Dragendorff spot test. Guatteria dura R. EF. Fries in Acta Hort. Berg. 12 (1939) 499, CoLomBia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kuduyari. “Tree 18 feet. Flowers yellow- green cauliflorous.” October 10. 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24391]. 256 The bark of this tree is strongly alkaloid-positive with a Dra- gendorff test; the leaves are slightly positive. Guatteria modesta Die/s in Notizbl. 9 (1924) 139. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, Ushpacano, 2 hours from Iquitos. “Tree 10 m.. 10 cm. diameter. January 12, 1968. Tello et Tina 2037. This tree is known inthe Peruvian Amazonas carahuasca. It is the source of a preparation thought to be contraceptive. The collectors’ notes state: “Chop up the bark (only bark is used, not the other parts of the plant) and boil it in water for one minute: then take it out from the fire and leave it until it is tepid. Start to drink | cup in the morning and another at the evening (it must be pre- pared about 6 o'clock). This preparation must be drunk during the menstruation, until it finishes. This prevents not to have baby.” Xylopia amazonica KR. F. Fries in Acta Horti. Berg. 12 (1939) 562. CoromBia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis. Soratama. “On highlands. Large tree. Flowers white. September 28. 1951. Schulies et Cabrera 14146. Indians along the Rio Apaporis take a tea made of the leaves and stems to induce sleep. X ylopia aromatica (Lam.) Martius, Fl. Bras. 13, pt. | (1841) 43. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Leticia. August 17, 1964. Fernandez- Perez 6856. Comisaria del Vaupeés. Rio Vaupés, Mitt and vicinity. September 27 October 20. 1966. Schultes, Raffaufet Soejarto 24179.— Rio Vaupés, Urania. October 12, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24393. The Witotos of the Rio Igaraparana value a weak tea of the leaves as a strong diuretic taken to reduce edema of the legs: according to the natives, it must be used with extreme caution, The seeds are dried and kept for use as carminatives by Indians suffering from digestive problems. The collection Fernandez- Perez 6856 was strongly alkaloid- positive with Dragendorff spot test. Schulres, Raffauf et Soejarto 24393, on the other hand, was only slightly positive. LAURACEAE Nectandra globosa (Awh/.) Mez in Jahrb. Bot. Gard. Berlin 5 (1889) 415, No 1) | CotomBta: Comisaria del Amazonas. Rio Amazonas, Leticia. “Large tree along shore. Height 80-90 feet. corpulent. Bark smooth, light brown. Flowers w hite, slightly aromatic.” August 29 September 12, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24124. The bark of this tree is alkaloid-positive with a Dragendorff reagent spot test; the leaves and twigs are alkaloid negative. Ocotea opifera Martius in Spix et Martius, Reise Bras. 3 (1831) 1128. CoLtomBia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Mitt and vicinity. “Tree 30 feet tall. Fruit green. Fruits pulverized to mix with coca powder for certain dances.” September 27 October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24421. The fruits of this tree are pulverized and mixed with coca powder for certain dances to make the effects of the coca “stronger.” The leaves are alkaloid negative in a spot test for alkaloids with Dragendorff reagent. Ocotea simulans C.K. A//en in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 10 (1964) 99. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés. Rio Vaupes, Mit and vicinity. September 27 October 20, 1966. “Small tree. Flowers yellowsh. Leaves and twigs slightly alkaloid-positive.” Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 14174.— Same locality and date. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24200. The leaves of Ocotea simulans are roasted and pounded with coca leaves for certain ceremonies. The reason for using the leaves of this lauraceous plant is said to be that the admixture acquires a more pleasant taste. The leaves and twigs reacted positively to a spot test for alka- loids with Dragendorff reagent. CAPPARIDACEAE Crataeva Benthmii Fich/er in Martius, Fl. Bras. 13, pt. | (1865) 265. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Amazonas near mouth of Rio Lore- toyacu. “Small tree. Flowers basally green; long filaments purple.” September 13-15, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24133. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, Iquitos region, Moyuy. “Small tree, 5 m. Flowers pale green.” July 26, 2966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1133. 258 This tree, locally called ramara, is poisonous if taken internally, according to the collectors. In Brazil. however, leaves and roots are said to be employed as a tonic and stomachic, and the juice of the leaves is used externally to relieve rheumatism (LeCointe A.: Amazonia Brasileira 3 (1934) 112). The fruit or bark are mixed with water and used to wash the skin for “lobosisso,” a plague which makes the skin black. The leaves and twigs are alkaloid positive with a Dragendorff spot test; the bark is negative. Crataeva Tapia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. (1753) 444. CoL_omMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas. Rio Amazonas, near mouth of Rio Lore- toyacu. September 13 15, 1966. Schulres, Raffauf et Soejarto 24156. The leaves of Crataeva Tapia are said by the Witoto Indians to be in tea form an effective stomachic. CRASSULACEAE Bryophyllum pinnatum Aschers et Schweinfurth, Ill. Fl. Egypte ex Mem. Inst. Egypt. 2 (1887) 79. Pert: Departamento de Loreto, Iquitos, Uchpacano. “Cultivated herb.” July 28. 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1116. According to the collectors, this herb, known in Peru as pai- checara, is medicinally used: the leaves are mixed with a small amount of aquardiente and applied to the temples for headache and a decoction of the leaves is drunk for “intestinal irritations.” CHRYSOBALANACEAE Hirtella bullata Bentham in Hooker, Journ. Bot. 2 (1840) 216. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Karuru. “Flowers white,” April 12-15, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19161. The bark is prepared in a tea to treat sore throats due to prolonged “gripa.” Inthe Amazon of Brazil the bark of Hirtella bracteata Mart. et Zucc. is considered to be astringent (LeCointe: loc. cit., 130). 259 Hirtella guainiae Spruce ex Hooker fil. in Martius, Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 2 (1867) 31. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupes. Rio Vaupes, Javarete. “Low bush. Flowers pale pink.” May 14-24, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19421. A tea of the bark is recommended as a gargle for sore throat. Hirtella racemosa Lamarck var. hexandra (Wil/d. ex R. et S.) Prance in Fl. Neotrop., no. 9 (1972) 328. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés. Rio Vaupés, between Mitu and Javareteé, Arara Cachivera. “Low bush. Fruit dark red.” May 14-24. 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19398. The bark and leaves of this bush are prepared in a tea which is taken as hot as possible “to open the throat” in cases of extreme respiratory ailments. Licania apetala(£. Mey.) Fritschin Ann. K.K. Naturh. Hofmus. Wien 4 (1889) 54. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kananari, Cerro Isibukuri. Tree. Diame- ter 15 in.; height 75 feet. August 3, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13276. In Spanish, this tree is called cabio. The Puinave name 1s wan-choo; Kabuyari, ka-ve,; Kuripako, ka-ve; Taiwano, kha-mwa. The bark is burned and the ashes are mixed with clay to make strong ceramic pots. Licania heteromorpha Bentham var. glabra (Mart. ex Hook. fil.) Prance in Fl. Neotrop., no. 9 (1972) 108. CoL_oMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kananari. August 6, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13416.—Rio Vaupés, Mitu and vicinity. “Fruit brown; large tree.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24198. The leaves and fruits are slightly alkaloid-positive with a Dra- gendorff spot test. LEGUMINOSAE Anadenanthera peregrina (L.) Spegazzini in Physis 9 (1923) 313. Inthe Rio Negro area of Brazil, this tree, the seeds of which are the source of an hallucinogenic snuff called parica or yopo, is 260 to-day extremely rare. The tree grows most appropriately in open grasslands or savannahs, never in heavy forests. The species is now very common in the upper Orinoco area and in the savan- nahs of the Rio Branco. It is rarely seen nowadays in the Rio Negro, where apparently it was once frequently cultivated. Over a century ago, Spruce reported: “I first gathered speci- mens of the Parica (or Niopo) tree in 1850 in Santarem at the junction of the Tapajoz and Amazon where it had apparently been planted. In the following year, I gathered it on the little river Jauauari— one of the lower tributaries of the Rio Negro— where it was certainly wild.”(A.R. Wallace [Ed.]: Notes ofa Botanist on the Amazon and Andes 2 (1908) 426). In my several years in the Rio Negro basin, I never encountered Anadenanthera peregrina, but Dr. Ghillean T. Prance located trees near the mouth of the Rio Une, a small affluent of the Rio Negro. Dr. Prance writes: “These trees are in a field beside the river where they grow ina group. They are regularly visited each year by a group of Yanomamo who harvest them.” It is interesting that certain plants, common enough apparently along the Rio Negroa century ago, are now nearly non-existent in the area. Another example is the guarana plant, Paullinia Cupana, which, in Spruce’s time, was apparently frequent all along the Rio Negro— obviously planted. To-day, it is hardly ever seen along this river and, if so, is planted only as a curiosity. Mimosa pudica Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. (1753) 518. EcuApDOR: Provincia Pataza, Rio Chico, affluent of Rio Pastaza,. Village of Rio Chic6é. “White flower.” August 1979, Shemluck et Ness 211. The Kechwa name for this plant in Ecuador is punvo-sisa. According to the collectors, the leaves are put in pillows for the elderly and children who cannot sleep. Parkia oppositifolia Spruce ex Bentham in Trans. Linn. Soc. 30 (1875) 363. BraziL: Estado do Amazonas, basin of Rio Negro, Rio Ineiuxi, Maku Indian village 300 km. above mouth. “Tree, 10 m. x 30 cm. diameter.” October 24, 1971. Prance, Maas et al. 15594. 261 According to the collectors, the bark of the trunk is scraped and added to water to prepare a drink for curing dysentery. The Maku name of the tree is piradahi; in Portuguese, it is called arapari. Spartium junceum /innaeus, Sp. Pl. (1753) 708. ECUADOR: Provincia Avuay. along Rio Tarqui, near 8,300-9,000 feet alt. “Erect shrubs to 3m. Stems bright green. Floral parts bright yellow. An exceeding common escape on almost all dry slopes in the Cuenca area.” March 7, 1945, Camp E-205.— Provincia Cafiar, near village of San Marcos, northeast of Azogues. “Shrubs to 1.5 m. Flowers yellow. The flowers are used to adorn the Mother of God.” April 1, 1945. Camp EF-2501. This introduced shrub, known in highland Ecuador as retama, is believed to have abortifacient properties. According to Camp, “an infusion of the roots is taken by women who do not want children.” The dried flowers are also “smoked as a cigarette for asthma.” GERANIACEAE Geranium rhomboidale Moore in Gentes Herb. 8, fasc. 3 (1951) Zoot, 103. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Paramo de San Antonio between La Laguna de La Cocha and the Valley of Sibundoy. Alt. 3000-3200 m. February 13,1942. Schultes 3238.— Road from Sibundoy to Pasto, between La Maria and Paramo de San Antonio. Alt. 2900-3180 m. June 1, 1946. Schultes et Villarreal 7825, In the Sibundoy Valley, the crushed leaves of Geranium rhom- boidale are considered to have styptic properties. DICHAPETALACEAE Stephanopodium peruvianum Poeppig et Endlicher, Nov. Gen. et Sp. 3 (1843) 40. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. “Small tree. Fruit green.” September 28, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14157.—Comisaria del Putumayo. Plowman 2042. In the Colombian Putumayo, this plant is known as calentura- caspi (“fever-tree”) or chiric-caspi (the same meaning). It is employed as a febrifuge. 262 Nothing is known of the chemical constituents of this genus, but some African species of Dichapetalum are reputedly toxic (Hegnauer: loc. cit. 4 (1966) 15). EUPHORBIACEAE Hevea guianensis Aub/er, Hist. Pl. Guian. Fr. 2 (1775) 871. Pert: Departamento de Loreto, Provincia Maynas, Rio Ampiyacu, Pucu Urquillo and vicinity. “Tree 60 feet tall, 10 inches in diameter. Bark smooth, tan-grey. Latex cream.” April 28, 1977. Plowman, Schultes et Tovar 7125 (Alpha Helix Amazon Expedition 1976-77. Phase VII). A field chemical examination revealed that this species of Hevea 1s devoid of alkaloids. Hieronyma colombiana Cuatrecasas in Rev. Acad. Col. Cienc. 8 (1951) 298. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Paramo de San Antonio, 3000-3200 m. “Small tree. Fruit edible, for making wine also.” February 13, 1942. Schultes 3253. The Kamsa Indians of Sibundoy, who call this plant ssna-hi- sha, make an infusion of the bark and leaves to cure “chandra,”a skin eruption. CELASTRACEAE Maytenus laevis Reissek in Martius, Fl. Bras. 11, pt. 1 (1861) 19. CoLomBia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kubiyu, Savannah Kafienda. “Small tree. Flowers white.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24266. This species is the famous chuchuhuasca of the Peruvian Amazon. The bark is believed to be a strong stimulant when taken in infusion. CyYRILLACEAE Cyrilla racemiflora Linnaeus, Mant. | (1767) 50. Cotomsia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kuduyari, Cerro Yapoboda. October 28, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14472.— Rio Kananari, Cerro Isibukuri. “Tree 10 feet tall.” January 23-25, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15034.— Rio Kubiyu, Savannah 263 Kafienda. “Tree 20 ft. tall. Flowers whitish.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24263. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Negro basin. Middle course of Rio Curicuri- ari. January 1948. Schultes et Lopez 9718. This plant is alkaloid negative with a Dragendorff spot test. The Indians of the Rio Curicuriari in Brazil crush the leaves of Cyrilla racemiflora and vigorously rubbed the mass on sprains and muscular pains for relief. ICACINACEAE Poraqueiba sericea Tu/asne, in Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 3, 11 (1849) 172. CotomsiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Piraparana, Cafio Teemeefia. “Small tree. Cultivated. Flowers yellow.” September 9, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17319.—Rio Vaupés, between Mitt and Javareté, Tipiaca. May 14-24, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19278.—Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Karaparana, El Encanto. “Flowers white-yellow. Small cultivated tree. Fruit ripens yellow. Pulp thin, yellow.” March 20-April 2, 1970. Schultes 26084.—Comisaria del Amazo- nas, Rio Amazonas, Leticia. “Cultivated tree. 25 feet tall. Flowers yellow.”Au- gust 29-September 12, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24012.—Same locality and date. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24027.—Same locality and date. “Tree 40 feet. Flowers whitish yellow.” Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24082. Peru: Departmento de Loreto, Rio Nanay, Mishana. February 19, 1969. Plowman 249], All Dragendorff spot tests on this plant proved to be alkaloid- negative. The tree and its fruit are widely known in Colombia and Peru by the Brazilian name umari. In the Colombian Amazon, it is called wa-mo by the Barasanas; how by the Puinaves; mwa-mo by the Gwananos; ma-mo-hoj-ye by the Kubeos; and neé-ka-soo (fruit) and ne-ka-na (tree) by the Witotos. In Peru, the plant is an ingredient in a contraceptive medicine, according to Plowman 2491]. SAPINDACEAE Cupania scrobiculata Richard in Acta Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris | (1792) 109. Cotomsia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Mitt and vicinity. “Shrub. Fruit red.” September 27—-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24298. This plant is alkaloid negative with a Dragendorff spot test. 264 TILIACEAE Lueheopsis Schultesii Cuatrecasas in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 15 (1951) 49, t. 17. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Igaraparana, La Chorrera and vicin- ity. June 4-10, 1942. Schultes 3925.— Same locality and date. Schultes 2972. The Witotos call this beautiful bush mo-se-go-na. The bark is boiled, and the resulting astringent tea is valued by the Witotos as a remedy for sore throat. The seeds are said to be roasted and eaten. Triumfetta althaeoides Lamarck, Encycl. 3 (1791) 420. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, region of Iquitos. “Small shrub, | m.; flowers pale orange; stamens orange; fruit green turning brown.” July 26, 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1160. According to the collectors, this shrub is known as caballusa and is “used for uterine complaints.” MALVACEAE Malachra rudis Bentham, Pl. Hartweg. (1845) 164. CoLompiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, on summit of Cerro Mitt. “Low shrub, 3 feet.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24342. A spot test for alkaloids with Dragendorff reagent was nega- tive for this plant. Sida cordifolia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. (1753) 684. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Amazonas, Leticia. “Bush in secon- dary growth. Flowers pink.” August 29-September 12, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24085. This plant gave an alkaloid-negative reaction toa Dragendorff spot test. BOMBACACEAE Bombax coriaceum Martius, Nov. Gen. et Sp. | (1826) 93. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupeés, Rio Karuru, Mesa de Yambi, Savannah Goo-ran-hoo-da. “Flowers white. Bush 2 1/2 feet tall.” April 15-16, 1953. 265 Schultes et Cabrera 19158.— Rio Kubiyu, Savannah Kaftienda. “Bush 3 feet.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24280. Bombax coriaceum gave an alkaloid-negative reaction to a spot test with Dragendorff reagent. Bombax globosum Auh/er, Hist. Pl. Guian. Fr. 2 (1775) 701, t. 281. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kananari, Cerro Isibukuri. “Large tree, 60-70 feet tall. Flowers yellow-white, petals yellow towards tip.” September 29, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14700. The “wool” from the fruit is mixed with resins or latexes and painted on wounds or ulcers as a kind of protective “skin.” The Taiwanos call the tree ka-ne-wee-re. Bombax Munguba Martius, Nov. Gen. et Sp. | (1826) 93, t. 99. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, region of Iquitos, Moyuy. “Tree 25 m. tall: fruit red.” July 26, 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1135. According to the collectors, a decoction of this plant, locally known as punga, punga blanca or huina caspi, is taken for snake bite. Matisia cordata Humboldt et Bonpland, P\. Aequin. | (1805) 9, tz. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Amazonas near mouth of Rio Lore- toyacu. “Tree 60 feet tall. Flowers yellow.” September 13-15, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24111.—Same locality and date. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24117. The results of a spot test for alkaloids with Dragendorff rea- gent gave the following results: bark doubtful; leaves positive. Septotheca Tessmannii U/brich Notizbl. 9 (1924) 129, fig. 3. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Boiauassi, Trapecio Amazonico. “Enormous tree with buttress roots. Flowers yellow-green, mucilaginous.” November 1945. Schultes 6788.—Same locality. “Sepals green-yellow. Tree 80 feet tall with great buttresses. Very common.” October 27, 1946. Schultes 86/2. This tree is called zapoterana or zapotilla in the Trapecio Amazonico. It is a rare element of the flora of this area. 266 STERCULIACEAE Sterculia roseiflora Ducke in Arch. Inst. Bio. Veg. Rio Janeiro 2 C1935) a7. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. “Large tree. Flow- ers fragrant, reddish purple. On high land.” September 28; 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14143. This tree is locally known as tur’. The stems are boiled in water to make an unusually strong diuretic tea. CARYOCARACEAE Caryocar glabrum (Auwh/.) Persoon, Syn. 2 (1806) 84. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama, “Enormous tree. Flowers yellow; stamens bright red.” September 26, 1951. Schulres et Cabrera 14139. The Puinave name for this treelet is haw. The seeds are used, uncooked, as a food. They are also considered to be medicinally useful in what appears to be an attempt to regulate menstruation. GUTTIFERAE Lorostemon colombianum Maguire ex R.E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 18 (1958) 159. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Jinogojé (at mouth of Rio Piraparana) and vicinity. “Tree 6 m. high. Flowers outside red, greenish at base and red-spotted above; calyx green. Latex yellow.” September 25, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17619.— Rio Ricapuya (tributary of Rio Apaporis below mouth of Rio Piraparana). “Small tree 6 m. tall. Latex yellow. Flowers red. September 25-26, 1952. Schulres et Cabrera 17638. The Puinave call this small tree boo-kwan, the Makuna know it as chee-kan-hoo; and the Maku of the Rio Piraparana refer to it as tee-ran-ken. Lorostemon stipitatum Maguire in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 10 (1963) 130. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Piraparana, lower course. “Medium- sized tree. Sparse white latex.” March 9, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15910. The Makuna Indians of the Rio Piraparana know this tree as o-he-wo-bok. 267 Moronobea coccinea Aub/er, Hist. Pl. Guian. Fr. (1775) 788, t. 33 excl. figs a-f. COoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Caqueta, La Pedrera and vicinity, Quebrada Tonina. “On high land. Large tree. October 5, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17728.—Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Mitu and vicinity. “Columnar tree | 1/2 feet in diameter. Height 90 feet. Crown sparse, all at top. Bark thick, soft, roughish, brown outside, sandy inside. Latex abundant, yellow. Wood yellowish white. Flowers rose-red.” September 8, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13960. In the Vaupés, the Tukano name of this tree is woo-ha-pee-ka- ne, and the Taiwono call it go-hé. The Kabuyari in La Pedrera know it as mau-pa. Moronobea riparia (Spr.) Planchon et Triana var. fimbrillata R.E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 17 (1955) 15. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Guainia, Puerto Colombia. “Flowers greenish white. Stigmas and pistil bright green. Latex bright yellow. Bark thick, scaley, dark-brown, corky. Tree storeyed. Height 40 feet. Diameter 14 inches.” October 31-November 2, 1952. Schultes, Baker et Cabrera 18206.—Same local- ity and date. Schultes, Baker et Cabrera 18210. The Puinave name of this beautiful variety is m6w; the Kuri- pako call it ma-ra-ke. In Spanish, the tree is known by the general term breo and in Lingua Geral as /-rai-kee. Platonia insignis Martius var. formosa R.E. Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 17 (1955) 18. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Piraparana, Raudal de La Olla. “Tree 25 m. Columnar. Bark grey-brown, rough with scales. Flowers salmon-pink, petals curl out at edge. Receptable thick, same colour. Latex cream-coloured. On rocks at falls. Crown not large.” August 28, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17062.— Rio Vaupés, mouth of Rio Kerari. “Flowers salmon-pink. Columnar tree, diameter 28 inches. Latex resinous, yellow. Anthers yellow. Bark shaggy, rich brown. Wood whitish. Latex used to light houses. Just above high water line.” May 14-15, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19342. The Tanimuka name of this tree is 00-ka-o-ree-ke; the Yukuna call it ke-pe-la (Schultes et Cabrera 17062). Amongst the Desana of the Rio Vaupés, it is known as ko-me-peé-go-re, while the neighbouring Tukano call it ko-pai-yo-ree. The seeds of Platonia insignis have an oil content of 0.5% (Hegnauer: loc. cit., 4 (1966) 221). 268 Symphonia globulifera Linnaeus fil., Suppl. (1781) 302. CoLtomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Piraparana, Cafio Oo-mo6-fia. Sep- tember 3, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17163. The Makuna Indians of the Rio Piraparana burn the bark and apply the ashes to wounds. A similar use in the Rio Apaporis has been reported for this species (Schultes: Bot. Mus. Leafl., Har- vard Univ. 26 (1978) 234). POTALIACEAE Potalia Amara Aub/er, Hist. Pl. Guian. Fr. (1773) 394, t. 151. PERU: Departamento de Loreto, Provincia Maynes, Rio Yaguasyacu, affluent of Rio Ampiyacu, Brillo Nuevo and vicinity. “Shrub 2 m. tall in forest. name: okaji kahpuu (Bora).” April 12,1977. Plowman, Schultes et Tovar 6803 (Alpha Helix Amazon Expedition 1967-1977, Phase VII). The Boras, who know this plant as okaji-kahpuu, chop fresh leaves in water and take it internally for snakebite or against any poisonous animal (raya, isula). It is said to calm the body and eliminate pain. Notwithstanding the extensive medicinal use of Potalia Amara throughout the Amazon, the chemistry of this genus is, according to Gibbs, “too poorly known to justify discussion” (Gibbs: Che- motaxonomy of Flowering Plants, McGill-Queen’s, University Press, Montreal 3 (1974) 1333-1334). APOCYNACEAE Rhigospira quadrangularis (Mue/l.-Arg.) Miers, Apocyn. S. Am. (1878) 68. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Macaya. “Slender tree, 50 feet tall. Very abundant thick, white latex similar to but not that of juansoco. Bark thin, smooth with black-grey patches.” April 1-7, 1943. Schultes 5357. According to Zarucchi, this collection, reported as Neocouma Duckei (Schultes in Acta Bot. Neerl. 15 (1966) 182), is now correctly identified as Rhigospira quadrangularis. It is used, under the local name caimo morado, to adulterate the latex of Couma macrocarpa Barb.-Rodr. inthe upper Rio Apaporis basin of Colombia. The tree is called pa/o de leche or caimo morado in the region. 269 Tabernaemontana Sananho Ruiz & Pavon, Fl. Peruv. 2 (1799) 22, t. 144. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, Maucallacta, Rio Paranapura. “Tree 3-4 meters. Flowers greyish white. Yacu Zanango.” January 1935. G. Klug 3942. CotomsiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu, near Puerto Narifio, around Laguna Dolfus. “N.v.-sanango. Hierba de | m. hasta arbustiva de 3 m. Flores blancos.” August 19, 1964. Fernandez- Perez 6867. This species proves to be highly positive with a spot test for alkaloids with Dragendorff reagent. ASCLEPIADACEAE Metelea palustris Aub/er, Hist. Pl. Guian. Fr. (1775) 278, t. 109, ‘AP Ecuapor: Provincia Pastaza, Rio Chico, Village of Rio Chicé and vicinity. August 1979. Shemluck et Ness 190. The leaves are cooked and eaten and are said to turn the teeth red. There is apparently no utilitarian purpose involved in eating the leaves. The chemistry of this genus is apparently unknown. RUBIACEAE Duroia Linnaeus fil. This tropical American genus of some 20 species belongs to that portion of the Rubiaceae—the Gardeniinae—which is not particularly noted for alkaloids with the exception of three gen- era: Randia, Basanacantha and Hamelia. The section has, how- ever, not been thoroughly investigated. In an earlier paper, I indicated the native uses of a number of species of Duroia and noted that “...reports from natives affirming the poisonous properties of the seeds of several species. ..call attention once again to the need for phytochemical studies guided by ethnobo- tanical observations.” (Schultes in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 22 (1969) 151-156). Duroia hirsuta (P. e E.) K. Schumann in Martius, FI. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 367. 270 CoLomBia: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Conejo and vicinity. April 2-5, 1940. Schultes The Kofan Indian name of Duroia hirsuta in the Putumayo is sha-ka-ker-na-se. Duroia kotchubaeoides Steyermark in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 12 (1965) 201. CoLomstia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Guainia, Puerto Colombia and vicinity. “Small tree. Flowers white.” October 31-November 2, 1952. Schultes, Baker et Cabrera 28111. A Dragendorff spot test for this species is alkaloid negative. The seeds are said by the natives to be poisonous when eaten. Duroia petiolaris (Spr.) Hooker fil. ex K. Schumann in Martius, Fl. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 364. CoLomBtA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Trapecio Amazénico, Rio Loretoyacu. October 1945. Schultes 6727. The Tikuna Indians assert that the seeds of this species are dangerously toxic if ingested. Durioa saccifera ( Mart.) Hooker fil. ex K. Schumann, in Mar- tius, Fl. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 362, t. 146, fig. 1. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratama and Vicinity. March 26, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16063. A spot test with Dragendorff reagent indicates that this collec- tion is doubtfully alkaloidal. The seeds are said by the natives to be toxic if ingested. SOLANACEAE Solanum hypomalacophyllum Bitter ex Pittier, Man. Pl. Usual. Venez. (1926) 137. The common name of this plant in Venezuela—borrachera— indicates that it is an intoxicant (Herbarium collection: Gehringer 2); It is possible that this species of Solanum contains tropane alkaloids so widespread in the family, but an analysis has appar- ently not been made. zi CAMPANULACEAE Centropogon ferrugineus (L. fi/.) Gleason in Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 52 (1925) 11. CoLtomsiaA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Paramo de San Antonio, March 1953. Schultes s.n. In Sibundoy, a bitter tea of the leaves of this plant is valued in treating dysentery. Chemical studies apparently have not yet been carried out on Centropogon. 272 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 3 SUMMER 1983 NEW SPECIES OF ERYTHROX YLUM FROM BRAZIL AND VENEZUELA TIMOTHY PLOWMAN! Eryvthroxylum Leal-costae Plowman, E. occultum Plowman and E. hypoleucum Plowman are described and illustrated, and their ecology and taxonomic relationships discussed. Erythroxyvlum Leal-costae and E. occultum are known only from urban areas in Brazil and are pointed out as endangered species. Asa result of taxonomic studies of the genus Erythroxylum in preparation of a treatment for Flora Neotropica, numerous undescribed species have been discovered, particularly from Brazil and Venezuela. A number of these are known only from urban areas and other environments rapidly undergoing habitat destruction. It is the purpose of this paper to call attention to two of these species from Brazil—FE. Leal-costae from Salvador, Bahia, and EF. occu/tum from Rio de Janeiro—in order to under- score their endangered status. Erythroxylum (sect. Rhabdophy/llum) Leal-costae Plowman, Sp. nov. Frutex dense ramosus. Ramuli crassi et rigidi. Stipulae coria- ceae, persistentes, striatae, 3-setulosae. Folia ad apices brachy- blastorum producta, brevissime petiolata; laminae ellipticae vel late obovatae, apice rotundatae, retusae vel emarginatae, coria- ceae. Flores fasciculati in axillis foliorum a brachyblastis horno- tinis producti, pedicello brevi et incrassato, Petali lamina concava, late ovata. Urceolus stamineus quam calyx paulo longior, ad marginem 10-denticulatus. Drupa anguste ovoidea, endocarpio subtereti, dorsaliter 3-sulculato, apice acuto, ad maturitatem uni- loculari, endospermio abundanti. ‘Associate Curator, Botany Department, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois and Research Associate in Economic Botany, Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 273 SHRUB or TREELET to 3 m. tall with dense, spreading crown and single trunk to 6 cm. in diameter. BARK on trunk rugose, fissured transversely and longitudinally into rectangular seg- ments, whitish grey to dark brown, 7-10 mm. thick; inner bark reddish brown; wood pale reddish tan. BRANCHES spreading, diffuse, terete, dark to light grey. BRANCHLETS distichous, divaricating at wide acute to right angles, straight or somewhat curved toward apex, thick, rigid, strongly flattened toward apex, 3-4 mm. wide, 2 mm. thick, initially light green, turning dark grey and drying blackish, smooth or somewhat longitudinally wrinkled, the lenticels sparse, punctate to briefly elongate, whit- ish. INTERNODES 5-20 mm. long on long shoots, highly con- tracted and ca. | mm. long on short shoots. RAMENTA congested at base of longer shoots 5-25 mm. along stem or covering short shoots, black. STIPULES persistent, appressed, diverging to ca. 45° with age, broadly triangular-ovate, 2.0-3.5 mm. long, coriaceous, light green, turning black with age, dis- tinctly striate when young with 3-5 nerves per side, apically obtuse to truncate, 3—setulose, the setae 0.6—-1.0 mm. long, very fragile and early disappearing, the keels prominulous, subulate, the margin entire. LEAVES deciduous, 2-3 produced at tips of branchlets, distichous, very short petiolate, the lamina stiff, held erect, plane or nearly so, elliptic to obovate, sometimes orbicular, apically rounded, retuse or emarginate, basally obtuse or rounded, 30-60 mm. long, 20-45 mm. wide, coriaceous, medium to dark green adaxially, light yellowish green abaxially, drying ferrugineous, shiny to rather dull adaxially, dull abaxially, eli- neate and without a distinct central panel, the midrib slightly raised, acute in cross section, yellowish adaxially, drying ferru- gineous abaxially, the lateral nerves 7-11, straight, diverging 40° -75° from midrib, prominulous to obscure adaxially, abax- ially distinct, darker green than lamina, the veinlets abaxially distinct, finely reticulate. PETIOLE short, thick, 1.0-2.5 mm. long, 1.5-2.0 mm. in diameter, subterete, dark brown, drying black. FLOWERS in axillary fascicles on current season’s shoots, often congested near apex of short shoots, with 1-6 flowers per node; flower color unknown. BRACTEOLES 3 per flower, sub- 274 orbicular to triangular, 0.8-1.0 mm. long, membranaceous, apl- cally obtuse to rounded, with one submedial nerve, |-setulose, the seta 0.1-0.3 mm. long. PEDICEL short, thick, pentangular, 1.5-2.0 mm. long, !.0-1.5 mm. in diameter. CALYX 1.5-2.0 mm. long, the lobes triangular to broadly ovate, 1.0-1.2 mm. long, apically acute to acuminate, the apex itself obtuse. PETAL limb suberect, concave, broadly ovate in outline, 2 mm. long, 1.5—1.7 mm. wide, rounded at apex, the claw | mm. long, the ligule 1.0-1.1 mm. long, bilobate, the lobes with one larger posterior and one smaller anterior lobule, erose at margin, 0.7 mm. long. STAMINAL CUP 1.0-1.5 times as long as calyx, 1.2-1.5 mm. long, 10-denticulate at margin; anthers broadly ovate, apically rounded. BRACHYSTYLOUS FLOWERS: filaments 2.1—2.2 mm. long, the anthers I.6 mm. long; styles free, 0.8-1.0 mm. long, the stigma broadly depressed-capitate, | mm. in diameter, 0.6 mm. thick. DOLICHOSTYLOUS FLOWERS: antesepalous fil- aments 0.7—1.0 mm. long, the anthers 0.5 mm. long; antepetalous filaments 0.8-1.5 mm. long, the anthers 0.5 mm. long; styles free, 1.3 mm. long; stigma not seen. OVARY not seen. DRUPE nar- rowly ovoid, apically obtuse, 9-10 mm. long, 4 mm. in diameter, yellowish orange at maturity (fide Carvalho et al.), the mesocarp ca. 0.3 mm. thick, the endocarp narrowly ovoid, apically acute, subterete, dorsally shallowly 3-sulculate, unilocular at maturity: endosperm occupying ca. 2/3 of endocarp. EMBRYO 6.5-7.0 mm. long; cotyledons oblong-obovate, plane, 4.2-5.5 mm. long, 3.0-3.2 mm. wide, | mm. thick, apically rounded: radicle 1.7—1.8 mm. long. TYPE: BRAZIL: STATE OF BAHIA: Salvador, entre o Aeroportoe o Stella Maris, Dunas de Itapua, 23 Mar 1975(fl, fr), A. Leal Costa s.n.! (HOLoTYPE, ALCB; Isotype, F 1871789). ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS EXAMINED: BRAZIL: BAHIA: Munici- pio de Salvador. Along road (Av. Otavio Mangabeira = BA-033) from Itapua to Aeroporto 2 de Julio at first large traffic circle (intersection with Av. Luiz Viana Filho), approx. 12°55’S., 38°21’W., near sea level, 23 May 1981 (young fr), A. M. de Carvalho et al. 705 (CEPEC, F), 27 Jan 1983 (st), 7. Plowman 12770 (CEPEC, F, 14 duplicates to be distributed); 27 Jan 1983 275 (st), 7. Plowman 12780 (CEPEC, F, four duplicates to be distributed). ETyMOLoGy: Erythroxylum Leal-costae is named in honor of Dr. Alexandre Leal Costa, dedicated collector of the flora of Bahia who first collected the species in 1975. DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality in an extremely limited area. Eco.LoGy: Erythroxylum Leal-costae is confined to a small area within a region of dune scrubland near the town of Itapua next to the airport of the city of Salvador, Bahia. This vegetation is included in the broad concept of “restinga” but has been des- cribed by Eiten (1968) as “evergreen broadleaf open clumped scrub.” The restinga of Itapua consists mainly of evergreen shrubs and small trees with dense, tortuous branches and coriaceous, evergreen leaves, including Guettarda platypoda DC., Kiel- mevyera argentea Choisy, Croton Sellowii Baill., Emmotum affine Miers, Ternstroemia sp., and several Myrtaceae. A recent study of plant dispersal and succession at this site (Morawetz, in press) listed 94 species in some 84 genera and 51 families, but this Erythroxylum apparently was overlooked. A number of other species are thought to be endemic at the restinga of Itapua, including Aechmea itapoana W. Till & Morawetz, Hyptis Blan- chetii Benth., and possibly Kie/meyera reticulata Saddi. PHENOLOGY: Flowering material of Erythroxylum Leal-costae has been collected in late March and fruiting specimens in May. COMMON NAMES AND USEs: No common names or uses are reported for this species. RELATIONSHIPS: Erythroxylum Leal-costae appears to be-long to Sect. Rhabdophyllum based on its having striated stipules, but its relationships within this large and diverse group are uncertain. Erythroxylum Leal-costae may be related to two other restinga species also occurring in Bahia: FE. passerinum Mart. and an undescribed species (Plowman & Carvalho 12795). These two species are easily distinguished from E. Leal-costae by having more slender branchlets (ca. 2 mm. diameter), chartaceous leaves and longer pedicels (5-8 mm. long). Superficially, E. Leal-costae resembles several species of Sect. Archerythroxylum occurring in Brazilian restingas and related habitats, including E. ovalifolium 276 Peyr., E. nitidum Spreng. and E. hypoleucum Plowman. These may all be readily distinguished from E. Leal-costae by their lack of stipular striations. Erythroxylum (sect. Archerythroxylum) occultum Plowman, sp. nov. Arbor parva. Trunci cortex griseus, longitudinaliter et trans- versaliter profunde fissuratus. Ramuli recti, lenticellis abundan- ter producti. Stipulae persistentes, estriatae, nigrescentes, leviter fimbriatae, 3-setosae. Folia persistentia, breviter petiolata; lami- nae ellipticae vel oblongae, apice retusae, margine undulatae, basi cuneatae, chartaceae, elineatae. Flores 1-2 in axillis ramulorum hornotinorum producti, pedicellati. Petali lamina plus minusve plana, oblongo-elliptica. Urceolus stamineus quam calyx paulo brevior, ad marginem integer. Drupa oblongo-ellipsoidea, apice rotundata, rubra, endocarpio oblongo-ellipsoideo, 6—sulcato, ad maturitatem uniloculari. TREE to 12 m. tall, with trunk reaching 35 cm. in diameter (fide Coimbra). BARK on trunk of young tree roughish, irregu- larly finely mottled with corky warts and fissures, dark reddish brown; in mature tree deeply fissured transversely and longitudi- nally forming quadrangular plates, dark grey (fide Coimbra). BRANCHES ascending, spreading, somewhat storied, terete, brown. BRANCHLETS distichous, consisting mainly of long shoots, straight, diverging 45°-60° from axis, flattened toward apex, 1.5-2.0 mm. in diameter, reddish brown, turning dark brown or dark grey with age, covered with numerous punctate or briefly elongate whitish lenticels. INTERNODES 2-18 mm. long. RAMENTA produced briefly at base of shoots for 5-8 mm. along stem, equaling the stipules. STIPULES persistent, appressed, somewhat incurved with age, oblong to narrowly ovate, 1.2-2.3 mm. long, firmly membranaceous, estriate, pale green, turning dark brown or black with age, apically rounded to truncate, 3-setose, the setae subfilamentose, early caducous, the 2 lateral setae | mm. long, the medial seta 0.5-0.8 mm. long, the keels slender, filamentose when young, the margin fimbriate when young, becoming entire and somewhat involute with age. LEAVES persistent, scattered on longer branchlets or 2-3 produced near 277 apex of shorter branchlets, distichous, petiolate, the lamina plane or somewhat undulate, elliptic to oblong, rarely oblong-obovate or lanceolate, apically retuse, strongly undulate at margin, basally cuneate, 25-55 mm. long, 15~25 mm. wide, chartaceous, medium green adaxially, pale green abaxially, somewhat shiny adaxially, dull abaxially, elineate, the central panel abaxially faintly demarcated by more prominent and more densely reticu- late veinlets, the adaxial midrib slightly raised, slender, narrowly acute In cross section, yellowish green, the lateral nerves 8-11 per side, rather straight or arcuately curved, diverging 55°-80° from midrib, prominulous adaxially, prominulous to obscure abax- lally, the veinlets finely reticulate, distinct to rather obscure. PETIOLE 1.5-3 mm. long, 0.4-0.8 mm. in diameter, green, dry- ing dark brown, semi-circular in cross section, adaxially canalicu- late. FLOWERS 1-2 in axils of mature current season’s twigs, more or less scattered, the flower color unknown. BRAC- TEOLES 3 per flower, small, broadly triangular, 0.5-0.6 mm. long, membranaceous, early disintegrating, apically obtuse to acuminate, I-setulose, the seta 0.5 mm. long, early caducous. PEDICEL slender, pentangular, 5-6 mm. long, 0.7-0.8 mm. in diameter. CALYX 1.5 mm. long, deeply divided, the lobes ovate, 1.0-1.3 mm. long, apically obtuse to short acuminate with an obtuse acumen. PETAL LAMINA spreading, more or less plane, oblong-elliptic, rounded at apex, 2.0 mm. long, |.5 mm. wide, the claw 0.5 mm. long, the ligule 0.9 mm. long, trilobulate with 2 longer lateral lobes and | shorter medial lobe, the lobes broadly ovate, apically rounded. STAMINAL CUP about 3/4 the length of calyx, 0.7 mm. long, the margin entire. BRACHYSTYLOUS FLOWERS: filaments 2.0-2.5 mm. long; anthers not seen; styles free, | mm. long, reflexed in young fruit; stigma depressed- capitate, 0.3 mm. long. DOLICHOSTYLOUS FLOWERS: not seen. OVARY: not seen. DRUPE oblong-ellipsoid, rounded at apex, 11-14 mm. long, 7-8 mm. in diameter, red at maturity (fide Coimbra), the mesocarp 0.3-0.8 mm. thick, the endocarp oblong- ovoid, 6-sulcate, unilocular, the endosperm occupying about | /2 of locule; some fruits abnormal, gall-infested. EMBRYO 9 mm. 278 long; cotyledons elliptic, flattened, apically rounded, basally sub- cordate, 8 mm. long, 4.8 mm. wide, | mm. thick; radicle 1.8 mm. long, terete. Type: BRAZIL: STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO: City of Rio de Janeiro. Matta do Horto Florestal. Arvore de 8-12 m. de altura. Matta. 28 Dec 1926 (fr), Pessoal do Horto Florestal s.n., Herba- rio do Servigo Florestal do Brasil 223 (HoLoTYPE, RB 4842: IsoTYPES, RB 4842, 4 sheets; F 1875198, 3 isotypes to be distributed). ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS EXAMINED: BRAZIL: R1Io DE JA- NEIRO: City of Rio de Janeiro, Alto do Boa Vista, Estrada da Vista Chinesa, Centro de Botanica FEEMA-DECAM,, cultivated in front of herbarium building, 26 Feb 1983 (st), 7. Plowman 12952 (F, GUA, RB, 3 duplicates to be distributed). This tree was originally discovered growing in the forest margin at the Parque da Cidade (Parque Federal da Gavea) in the city of Rio de Janeiro by Adelmar Faria Coimbra Filho who collected seeds for propa- gation and distribution at the former Instituto da Conservac4o da Natureza of the city of Rio de Janeiro. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin “occultus,” meaning “hidden,” “con- cealed” or “secret.” The name refers to the fact that this species had been overlooked previously by botanists, apparently due to its rarity. DIsTRIBUTION: Ervthroxylum occultum is known only from the city of Rio de Janeiro. EcoLoGy: This species grows in the moist tropical forests that surround the city of Rio de Janeiro. A. F. Coimbra Filho (pers. comm.), who introduced £. occu/tum into cultivation, asserts that it is an exceedingly rare species which may be in danger of extinction if it is in fact confined to the environs of the city of Rio. However, it may occur elsewhere in the Serra do Mar region and have been overlooked by collectors because of its rather small, inconspicuous flowers and possibly short flowering period. PHENOLOGY: The only known fertile collection was made in late December. The tree cultivated at the Centro de Botanica in Rio (Plowman 12952) was 6 m. tall in 1983 and at least 15 years old but has never been observed to flower. 279 COMMON NAME: “Arco-de-pipa,” a name that is also applied to Erythroxylum pulchrum St. Hil., a common tree species around Rio de Janeira. RELATIONSHIPS: Erythroxylum occultum belongs to section Archerythroxylum, a group that is well represented in southeast- ern Brazil with more than 20 species. Whereas its specific rela- tionships are less clear, it appears to be related to both EF. vacciniifolium Mart. (including E. amplifolium [Mart.] O. E. Schulz) and EF. cuspidifolium Mart. (including EF. exaltatum Bong. ex Peyr.), shrubs or small trees occurring in montane forests and restingas of the Serra do Mar. Erythroxylum vacci- niifolium differs from E. occu/tum in having plane, more coriace- ous leaves with dense and prominent venation, ramenta much larger than the stipules, coriaceous and up to 5 mm. long, a denticulate staminal cup and a smaller fruit (8-11 mm. long vs. 11-14 mm. long). Erythroxylum cuspidifolium differs in having larger (SO-120 mm. long), apically acuminate leaves, smooth stipules, and flowers produced in dense fascicles at the tips of short shoots. Erythroxylum occultum also may be confused with species that have been placed in closely related sections (fide Schulz, 1907) and that also occur in the environs of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It differs from FE. cryptanthum O. E. Schulz (sect. Megalophyllum) in having much smaller leaves (25-55 mm. vs. 50-105 mm. long), fimbriate stipules and longer pedicels (5-6 mm. vs. 2-3 mm. long); from E. cincinnatum Mart. (sect. Micro- phyllum) in its arborescent habit and in having the leaves dull on the lower surface, fimbriate stipules, more lax and fewer ramenta, longer pedicels (S—6 mm. vs. 1-2 mm. long) and an entire staminal cup; and from E. pulchrum St. Hil. (sect. Leptogramme) in having smaller leaves (25-55 mm. vs. 65-112 mm. long), shorter (1.2-2.3 mm. vs. 4-5 mm. long), fimbriate stipules and fewer flowers per node (1-2 vs. 6-20). Erythroxylum (sect. Archerythroxylum) hypoleucum Plowman, sp. nov. Arbor parva ramulis crassis griseis, innovationibus cera vesti- tis. Stipulae subcoriaceae, persistentes, estriatae, minute 2-setu- losae. Folia breviter petiolata; laminae ellipticae, oblongae vel 280 obovatae, apice rotundatae retusae, coriaceae, supra viridia, sub- nitidae, subtus albae. Flores subsessiles, fasciculati in axillis foli- orum vel ramentorum a ramulis annotinis producti, pedicello brevissimo crasso. Petali lamina concava, late ovata. Urceolus stamineus calyce dimidio brevior vel calycem aequans, ad margi- nem integer. Drupa ellipsoidea, endocarpio ellipsoideo-fusiformi, 6-sulcato, triloculari, loculis sterilibus 2, loculo fertili | cruci- formi in sectione traversali, embryone valde compresso, cotyle- donibus oblongo-ovatis. Small TREE to 8 m. tall. TRUNK to 10 cm. in diameter with red inner bark. BRANCHES terete, grey to greyish brown, rather smooth, sometimes with warty “knobs” at intervals (remnants of past inflorescences). BRANCHLETS weakly distichous, consist- ing of both long and short shoots but not strongly dimorphic, diverging at 45° -75° from axis, somewhat flattened toward apex, thick, rather rigid, 2.5-4 mm. in diameter, reddish brown, covered with a waxy coating when new, sparsely provided with small, punctate, whitish lenticels, with age becoming light to dark grey or greyish brown. INTERNODES 2-14 mm. long on long shoots, 1-3 mm. long on short shoots. RAMENTA absent or sparse, when present appearing at base of long shoots 7-10 mm. along axis, ca. 2.5 mm. long, black. STIPULES persistent but wearing away with age, appressed to stem and spreading with age, covered with waxy coating when new, triangular to ovate, 2-4 mm. long, subcoriaceous, estriate, light green, turning black with age, apically obtuse to acutish, minutely 2-setulose, the setae 0.2-0.3 mm. long, early caducous and rarely observed, the keels sub-alate, minutely fimbriate, some becoming entire, the margins minutely fimbriate, becoming entire with age. LEAVES persist- ent, scattered on long shoots or 1-3 produced at tips of branch- lets, distichous, short petiolate, the lamina plane, elliptic to oblong or broadly obovate, apically rounded and shallowly retuse, with a minute black punctate mucron, revolute at margin, rounded to broadly cuneate at base, 40-90 (155) mm. long, 27-55 (70) mm. wide, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, adaxially light to dark green, sometimes glaucescent or slightly shiny, abaxially whitish or silvery, matt, bilineate with one distinct lateral line 5-8 mm. from each side of midrib, the central panel weakly distinct, 281 sometimes darker in color and with less prominent venation, the midrib flat and slightly impressed on adaxial surface, the lateral nerves I1-1I5 per side, straight or somewhat sinuous, diverging 45°-70° from midrib, prominent on both surfaces, the veinlets irregularly reticulate, sometimes obscure on upper surface. PETIOLE 3-6 (8) mm. long, |.5-2 mm. in diameter, covered with a waxy coating when young, subterete, adaxially canaliculate, subalate at margin. FLOWERS subsessile in axillary fascicles in axils of ramenta or leaves on past seasons’ branchlets, with 2-5 flowers per node; petal lamina greenish with white margins, the ligule and filaments white. BRACTEOLES 3 per flower, triangu- lar to broadly ovate, 0.5—-1.2 mm. long, firmly chartaceous, api- cally obtuse to acutish, minutely |-setulose, persisting and giving older branchlets a warty appearance. PEDICEL very short, thick, weakly pentangular, 0.3-0.8 mm. long, 0.5-1.0 mm. in diameter. CALYX subcoriaceous, |.5-2.0 mm. long, divided 1/2 to 3/4 its length, the lobes ovate to triangular-ovate, acute to short acuminate at apex, |.0-1.5 mm. long. PETAL LAMINA spreading or suberect, shallowly cymbiform to concave, broadly ovate in outline, apically obtuse to broadly rounded, 1.5—2.3 mm. long, 1.0-1.5 mm. wide, the claw 0.7—1.2 mm. long, the ligule 0.8- 1.2 mm. long, consisting of 2 longer posterior lobes with a short basal thickening between them and 2 short anterior lobes. STAMINAL CUP half as long to nearly equaling the calyx, 0.5-1.2 mm. long, entire at margin; anthers suborbicular, basally cordate. BRACHYSTYLOUS FLOWERS: filaments 1.8—2.0 mm. long, the anthers 0.5 mm. long; styles free, 0.7-0.8 mm. long, deflexed somewhat after anthesis; stigma depressed-capitate, 0.3 mm. long. DOLICHOSTYLOUS FLOWERS: antesepalous fila- ments 0.4-0.5 mm. long, the anthers slightly smaller, 0.3-0.4 mm. long; styles free or coherent briefly at base, erect, 2.0-2.5 mm. long; stigma erect, depressed-capitate, 0.3 mm. long. OVARY ellipsoid-oblongoid, rounded to somewhat truncate at apex, slightly longer than staminal cup, 1.3-1.5 mm. long. DRUPE ellipsoid, apically obtuse to rounded, 7.5-8 mm. long, 3.0-4.5 mm. in diameter, dark red at maturity, the mesocarp to 0.5 mm. thick, the endocarp ellipsoid-fusiform, 6—sulcate, 3—locu- 282 lar at maturity, with 2empty and | fertile locules, the fertile locule cruciform in cross section, the endosperm occupying about 3/4 of fertile locule. EMBRYO strongly compressed, green, 5.5 mm. long; cotyledons oblong-ovate, apically rounded, 3.3 mm. long, 1.4 mm. wide, 0.2 mm. thick; radicle 2.5 mm. long. Type: VENEZUELA: Territorio Federal Amazonas: | km. al este de Maroa, sabana de arena blanca y bosque enano, Lat. 2°45’N., Long. 67° 35’W., alt. 125 m., small shrub 3 m. tall; leaves subcori- aceous, deep green above, silvery below; flowers greenish white. 20 Apr 1970 (fl), J. A. Stevermark et G. Bunting 102807 (HOLo- TYPE, F 1848445: IsoTypes, MO 2685581, VEN). ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS EXAMINED: VENEZUELA: Bo _t- vAR: Cumbre del Cerro Guaiquinima, a lo largo del afluente del rio Carapo, | km. rio arriba del Salto Szczerbanari, 5°44’4” N., 63°41’8” W., parte suroriental del cerro, alt. 730-750 m., 23-24 May 1978 (fr), J. A. Stevermark etal. 117224(F, VEN). TERRITO- RIO FEDERAL AMAZONAS: Dept. Casiquiare, Rio Guainia, alrede- dores de Maroa, alt. ca. 127 m., 6-19 Jul 1969 (fl), G. S. Bunting et al. 3996 (MY, U); Dept. Rio Negro: San Carlos de Rio Negro, 17 Sept 1975 (st), P. E. Berry 1345 (VEN); 1-2 km. southeast and east of San Carlos de Rio Negro, ca. 20 km. south of confluence of Rio Negro and Brazo Casiquiare, 1°56’ N., 67°03’ W., alt. 120 m., 22 Apr 1979 (st), R. L. Liesner 6859 (F), 2 Mar 1979 (fl), H. L. Clark 7107 (VEN), 8 Feb 1980 (fl), H. L. Clark 7341 (VEN); km. 11 de la carretera San Carlos de Rio Negro-Solano (area de estudio del I.V.I.C.), alt. ca. 120 m., 16 Sept 1980 (st), O. Huber et al. 5672(F, VEN), 5691 (F, VEN); Mari’s bana, 10.8 km. north- east on Solano road, n.v. “palo de maguari,” 19 Aug 1981 (fl, fr), H. L. Clark 8127 (F), 8129 (F), 8130 (NY), 8131 (F); 22 Sept 1975 (fl), P. E. Berry & E. Brinig 1482(VEN); 4.3 km. north-northeast on Solano road, phenology transect, plant #133, n.v. “palo de maguari,” 28 Sept 1978 (fr), H. L. Clark 6825 (NY), 11 Dec 1980 (fr), H. L. Clark & P. Maquirino 7781(F). BRAZIL: AMAZONAS: Alto Rio Negro, Rio Uaupés, Taracua, Quadra 2-4, n.v. “turi,” Feb 1959 (st), W. Rodrigues 1132(INPA); Taracua, Feb 1959 (st), J. M. Pires etal. 7527 (1AN), 29 May 1962 (fl), J. M. Pires & N. T. Silva 7910 (LAN, UB); Rio Uaupés, n.v. “coca de caatinga,” 11 May 1942 (st), R. Froes 12576/300 (A, 2 sheets). 283 ETYMOLOGY: From Greek, “hypoleukos,” meaning “white beneath,” referring to the conspicuously white lower surface of the leaves. DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the upper Rio Negro region of southern Venezuela and the Rio Uaupeés of neighboring Brazil. One disjunct population is known from the summit of Cerro Guaiquinima in the State of Bolivar, Venezuela, some 550 km. to the northeast of the nearest populations in the Rio Negro area. Eco.ocGy: Erythroxylum hypoleucum grows primarily in savanna- woodland formations on white sand soils known as “Amazonian caatinga” in Brazil and as “bana” in Venezuela: This area is classified according to the Holdrige Life Zone system as “tropical moist forest” and receives an average of 3400-3600 mm. of rain- fall per year. However, because of the relatively poor white sand soils, the “caatinga” supports only a dwarf forest or savanna vegetation. PHENOLOGY: Erythroxylum hypoleucum flowers between April and September; the fruits appear between August and December. COMMON NAMES AND Uses: At San Carlos de Rio Negro, E. hypoleucum is known as “palo de maguari” or “maguari’s tree.” “Maguari” refers to a malevolent spirit known to local witch doctors, who apparently use the plant for medicinal or magical purposes (H. L. Clark, pers. comm.). The species also is called “cachito” or “palo gallineta” at San Carlos. “Gallineta” is a Venezuelan name for tinamous who probably eat the fruits of this tree. On the Rio Uaupeés in Brazil, E. hypoleucum is called “turi.” RELATIONSHIPS: Erythroxylum hypoleucum is closely related to E. lineolatum DC. and probably has been derived from it. Erythroxylum lineolatum is an uncommon species with a scat- tered distribution across northern South America. It is known from the Cauca Valley in northwestern Colombia east to Tri- nidad and grows ina variety of habitats including dry scrublands, bush islands in savannas and moist cloud forest. Erythroxylum hypoleucum may be distinguished from EF. /ineolatum in having thicker branchlets (2-4 mm. vs. |.5-2.0 mm. in diameter), more coriaceous leaves, and much thickened, shorter (0.3-0.8 vs. 2.0-5.0 mm. long) pedicels. 284 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Field studies of Erythroxylum Leal-costae and E. occultum in Brazil were supported largely by the Field Museum of Natural History. I would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their cooperation and invaluable assistance in conducting this research: Pedrito Silva, Gustavo E. M. Almeida and Larry Noblick (Salvador, Bahia); André M. de Carvalho and L. A. Mattos Silva (CEPLAC, Itabuna, Bahia); J. Pedro P. Carauta and the staff of Centro do Botanico do Rio de Janeiro): Adelmar F. Coimbra Filho (Rio de Janeiro), Elsie Franklin Guimaraes, Haroldo C. de Lima and Gustavo Martinelli (Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro) and Dimitre Sucre (Rio de Janeiro). lam grateful to Julian A. Steyermark and Howard L. Clark for providing specimens of Ervthroxylum hypoleucum. lam grateful to the curators of the following herbaria who kindly lent speci- mens essential to this study: A, ALCB, CEPEC, F, IAN, INPA, MO, NY, RB and VEN. REFERENCES Morawetz, W., in press. Dispersal and succession in an extreme tropical habitat: coastal sands and xeric woodlands in Bahia (Brazil). Abh. Natur- wiss. Naturwiss. Verein Hamburg. Schulz, O. E., 1907. Erythroxylaceae. In A. Engler, Das Pflanzenreich 4(134): 1-176. 285 PLATE 26 Plate 26. Dune scrub habitat and sprawling growth habit of young shrub of Eryvthroxylum Leal-costae Plowman (Plowman 12780) near Itapua, Bahia, Brazil. 286 PLATE 27 Plate 27. Close up showing bark on major basal branch ot Erythroxvlum Leal-costae Plowman (Plowman 12770). 287 PLATE 28 Plate 28. Densely branched habit of mature individual of Ervthroxyvlum Leal- costae Plowman (Plowman 12770). 288 PLATE 29 Plate 29. Branching habit of Erithroxvlum occultum Plowman, cultivated at Centro de Botanica, Alto de Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Plowman 12952). 289 PLATE 30 Plate 30. Erythroxylum hypoleucum Plowman, 1. habit (from Stevermark & Bunting 102807). 2. apex of flowering twig (from Stevermark & Bunting 102807). 3. stipule (from Stevermark & Bunting 102807). 4. long-styled flower (from Bunting et al. 3996). 5. short-styled flower in young fruit (from Berry & Briinig 1482). 6. petal(from Stevermark & Bunting 102807). 7. fruit showing persistent remnant of staminal cup (from Stevermark et al. 117224). 8. endocarp with mesocarp removed (from Stevermark etal. 117224). 9. cross section of endocarp showing one fertile and two empty locules (from Sreyver- mark et al. 117224). Drawn by Pollyanne Quasthoff. 290 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 3 SUMMER 1983 NOVEL HALLUCINOGENS FROM EASTERN ECUADOR E. WADE DAVIS AND JAMES A. YosT* Recent ethnobotanical investigations have greatly advanced the scientific understanding of the identification, distribution and constituents of plant hallucinogens in the northwest Amazon. To date at least nineteen species employed as stimulants or narcotics have been reported from this region—a figure that represents approximately one-seventh of all known psychotomimetic plants (Schultes and Hofmann 1980). Although this remarkable concen- tration in part reflects floristic peculiarities, it is also a result of cultural characteristics of the indigenous tribes. Throughout the northwest Amazon, hallucinogenic plants are a very vital feature of religious, medical and magical aspects of life. In the spring of 1981, whilst we were engaged in ethnobotanical studies in eastern Ecuador, our attention was drawn to a most peculiar use of hallucinogens by the Waorani, a small isolated group of some 600 Indians (cf. Davis and Yost, in press). Amongst most Amazonian tribes, hallucinogenic intoxication is considered to bea collective journey into the subconscious and, as such, is a quintessentially social event (Harner 1973, Reichel Dolmatoff 1971, 1975). The Waorani, however, consider the use of hallucinogens to be an aggressive anti-social act; so the sha- man, or ido, who desires to project a curse takes the drug alone or accompanied only by his wife at night in the secrecy of the forest or in an isolated house. Under the influence of mii ( Banisteriopsis muricata(Cav.) Cuatr.) the ido can call on the wenae, or malevo- lent spirits, to wreak evil, but there are no spirits whom he can contact to do good or to counter another /do’s curse. This belief is an unusual exception to the Amazonian pattern in that only the ido who caused the calamity can cure it, which he does by drink- ing mii to communicate with his wenae to convince them to *Summer Institute of Linguistics Dallas, Texas 291 withdraw from the victim. It places the shaman in a precarious position, inthat any agreement by the shaman to cure is a de facto admission of guilt; to agree to cure could easily end in death, so the accusation of being an /do is one that is usually met with defiant denial. Given this belief system, it is easy to see why the ido would inevitably choose to act clandestinely. Of particular botanical interest is the fact that this peculiar cultural practise involves hallucinogenic plants, one rarely used and one until now unreported. The Waorani have two hallucino- gens: Banisteriopsis muricata and an as yet undescribed basidioli- chen of the genus Dictvonema. The former is morphologically very similar to other commonly used psychoactive malpighiace- Ous species such as ayahuasca, Banisteriopsis Caapi (Spr. ex. Griseb.) Morton. On the other hand, no basidiolichen has yet been reported to be employed as a hallucinogen. Mii, (Banisteriopsis muricata) is the only hallucinogenic plant currently used by the Waorani. Although both of our collections (Davis et Yost 967; 975) were made on the edge of chacras (culti- vated plots), the Waorani maintain that the plant is not cultivated and frequently point it out growing wild along the river banks. The ido prepares the drug by scraping the bark of the liana and slowly boiling the brew; a procedure not unlike that followed in the preparation of B. Caapi as reported from elsewhere in the Amazon. Although only the shaman imbibes the drug, all adult Waorani clearly associate certain powers with it. A boy’s uncle or grandfather may take a tiny piece of the liana and, using the windpipe from a toucan, piping guan or curassow as a blowgun, blow the wadded mii into the boy’s lungs so that he will grow up to have powerful lungs and become a great hunter. Banisteriopsis muricata has never been studied pharmacologi- cally (Garcia Barriga 1975), but it almost certainly contains psy- choactive constituents. The Witoto of Pucu Urquillo on the Rio Ampiyacu in Peru call this species sacha ayvahuasca—“wild ayahuasca”—and say that it can be used in the same way as ayahuasca (B. Caapi), but that it is weaker. The second hallucinogen recognised by the Waorani is a con- spicuous but extremely rare species of lichenized basidiomycete. 292 It is a peculiar plant with a white hymenial layer and a bright green/ blue upper surface. Dr. Mason Hale of the Smithsonian Institution has studied our collection (Davis et Yost 1051) and has suggested that it represents a new species of Dictyonema. Our Waorani informants called it nén¢ndap¢, a name which they apply to many fungi, but they insisted that this plant was once used in shamanistic ritual. It was last used some four generations ago—approximately eighty years—when “bad shaman ate it to send a curse to cause other Waorani to die”. The drug was prepared as an infusion with various species of Bryophyta— kigiwai—and caused severe headaches and confusion when it was drunk. Nén¢ndap¢ is also reported to cause sterility and may be put into a child’s drink to cause barrenness. At the moment, it is unclear whether this is a post-hoc explanation of why some women are sterile or whether it indicates the presence of active chemical constituents. Although no peculiar lichen acids have been reported from Dictyvonema, the genus is very poorly known and certainly deserves phytochemical investigation. It may be difficult to gather adequate supplies for analysis; so rare is this species in Waorani land that one of us (JY) heard references to it for over seven years before encountering it in the forest. We wish to acknowledge gratefully the generous support of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Interamerican Foundation and the Summer Institute of Lin- guistics. In Ecuador, we received the full cooperation of the herbarium staffs of the Universidad Central and the Universidad Catolica. The staff and field personnel of the Summer Institute of Linguistics offered crucial logistical support. We would especially like to thank Dr. Timothy Plowman of the Field Museum of Natural History, Dr. Mason Hale of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute, and Prof. Donald Pfister of the Farlow Herbarium of Harvard University for their assist- ance with the determination of the specimens and Prof. Richard Evans Schultes of the Botanical Museum of Harvard University for reviewing the manuscript. Voucher specimens are on deposit at the Economic Herbarium of Oakes Ames and the Farlow Herbarium, both of Harvard University. 293 LITERATURE CITED Davis, E. Wade and James A. Yost. The Ethnobotany of the Waorani of eastern Ecuador. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University. Garcia-Barriga, H., 1975. Flora Medicinal de Colombia vol. 2. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional, Bogota, Colombia, p. 69. Harner, Michael J... 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism, Oxford Univer- sity Press, New York. Reichel-Dolmatoff, G.. 1971. Amazonian Cosmos, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. . 1975. The Shaman and the Jaguar. Temple University Press, Philadelphia. Schultes,R.E.and A. Hofmann, (1980ed.2). The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, p. 21. 294 PLATE 31 Plate 31. Dictyonema sp. nov. Det. Mason Hale. BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS FALL 1983 VoL. 29, No. 4 MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF ARCHEOLOGICAL AND RECENT COCA LEAVES (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP.) PHILLIP M. RuRY! AND TIMOTHY PLOWMAN2 INTRODUCTION Coca leaves, derived from two closely related species of the genus Erythroxylum P. Br., are widely used in South America as a masticatory and in household medicine. The history of coca chewing dates back several thousand years and there is evidence that coca is one of the oldest domesticated plants in the New World (Plowman, in press). Coca continues to be an important cultural feature among indigenous peoples throughout the Andes and in the western Amazon. In recent years, the cultivation of coca has greatly increased in order to supply the great demand for the alkaloid cocaine, which has become an extremely popular recreational drug in Western societies. In spite of its great antiquity, the history and botany of coca have not been studied in depth until the past decade. Although 'Research Associate, Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massa- chusetts 02138. Associate Curator, Botany Department, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois 60605, and Research Associate, Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Botanical Museum Leaflets (ISSN 0006-8098). Published quarterly by the Botanical Museum. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Subscription: $40.00 a year, net, postpaid. Orders should be directed to Secretary of Publications at the above address. Second-Class Postage Paid at Boston, Massachusetts. Published May 1984. 297 coca was formerly considered to be derived from the single species Erythroyxlum Coca Lam., modern studies have demon- strated that two distinct species are involved: E. Coca Lam. and E. novogranatense (Morris) Hieron. In addition, each of the two species has a distinct variety, so that four cultivated cocas are now recognized: E. Coca Lam. var. Coca, E. Coca var. Ipadu Plowman, E. novogranatense (Morris) Hieron. var. novo- granatense and E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Rusby) Plowman (Plowman 1979a, b, 1981, 1982: Rury, 1981, 1982: Bohm, Ganders & Plowman, 1982; Plowman & Rivier, 1983: Plowman, in press). The present distribution of the four varieties is shown in Plate 32. All four of the cultivated cocas were domesticated in pre- Columbian times and are still employed by native coca chewers in South America. Each was known by a different name before the Spanish popularized the now widespread term “coca”. All of the cultivated cocas contain cocaine, although they are now known to differ appreciably in their content of minor alkaloids and other chemical constituents (Bohm, Ganders & Plowman, 1982; Plowman & Rivier, 1983). Additional important differ- ences among the four varieties, which hitherto had been overlooked, are found in their leaf and stem anatomy, ecology, geographical distribution, breeding relationships, as well as in their cultivation and preparation for chewing. These differences have arisen through intensive human selection over a long period of time for desirable traits and for adaptations which permit coca cultivation in a wide variety of habitats. Erythroyxlum Coca var. Coca, “Huanuco” or “Bolivian” coca, is thought to be the most nearly ancestral type and today is still found in a wild or feral state throughout the moist tropical forests (“montana”) of the eastern Andes of Peru and Bolivia. It is also extensively cultivated today as the most important commercial source of coca leaves and cocaine. Amazonian coca, E. Coca var. Ipadu, is cultivated in the lowland Amazon by a number of tribes of shifting agricultural- ists. It apparently has been derived relatively recently as a lowland cultigen from £. Coca var. Coca of the Andean foothills, and does not persist as a feral plant in the forests of 298 Amazonia. Amazonian coca leaves are always finely pulverized before use in contrast to other varieties in which the whole leaf is chewed (Plowman, 1981; Schultes, 1981). Trujillo coca is classified as EF. novogranatense var. trux- illense, based upon its morphology, ecology and alkaloid and flavonoid chemistry. It is, however, intermediate in a number of characteristics between FE. Coca var. Coca and E. novo- granatense var. novogranatense and may represent a stage in a linear evolutionary sequence between these two taxa (Bohm, Ganders & Plowman, 1982). Trujillo coca is well adapted to dry areas and shows remarkable resistance to drought. Today it is grown only in the river valleys of north coastal Peru and in the arid valley of the upper Rio Marafon, with one disjunct population in northwestern Ecuador (Plowman, 1979b). It is not found anywhere in a wild or feral state and must be considered a true cultigen. Trujillo coca probably evolved under domestica- tion from E. Coca var. Coca in the drier valleys of northern Peru or southern Ecuador and only later diffused to coastal Peru. Colombian coca, E. novogranatense var. novogranatense, 1s cultivated in both wet and dry areas in the mountains of Colombia but, like Trujillo coca, exhibits tolerance to drought. It is also identical to Trujillo coca in its alkaloid and flavonoid chemistry (Bohm, Ganders & Plowman, 1982; Plowman & Rivier, 1983). Unlike the other cultivated varieties, Colombian coca is partially self-compatible and appears to be the evolu- tionarily most derived species. Dating of the time of divergence of the species and varieties of cultivated coca has not yet been possible. Application of techniques of biochemical genetic markers may prove useful toward this end but have not yet been investigated in Ery- throxylum. A second approach, which has been useful in unraveling the early evolutionary history of many domesticated plants, is the study of dated archeological remains. ARCHEOLOGICAL COCA The early evolution of coca in light of archeological evidence recently has been reviewed in detail by Plowman (in press). The 299 first evidence for coca chewing appears in the Valdivia culture on the Santa Elena Peninsula in southwestern Ecuador in the form of small, ceramic lime containers, dating about 2000 B.C. A small figurine representing a coca chewer was also found here and dates to Late Valdivia (1500-1600 B.C.) (Lathrap et al., 1976). More recent artifacts from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru demonstrate a long and continuous tradition of coca chewing (Bray & Dollery, 1983; Plowman, in press). Archeological specimens of actual coca leaves are extremely scarce, often poorly preserved, and usually lack stratigraphic or carbon-14 dates. In many cases, leaves reputed to be coca from archeological sites have not been preserved by archeologists for later examination and verification by specialists. As a result, many critical specimens are now completely lost or discarded. Most specimens of archeological coca originate from the dry Peruvian coast, where preservation of plant remains is optimal. The first suggestion of archeological coca dates to the end of the Late Preceramic Period 6 (1800-2500 B.C.). Engel (1963) found leaves “looking like coca” along with large deposits of burnt lime (presumably used as an alkaline catalyst in coca-chewing) at the site of Asia in the Omas Valley in central Peru. Asia is radiocarbon-dated at about 1300 B.C. but probably dates to about 1800 B.C. (M. Moseley, pers. comm.). Engel’s report of coca at this early site must be considered dubious since the specimens no longer exist. Patterson (1971) excavated preserved coca leaves at Las Gaviotas near Ancon, a site dated between 1750 and 1900 B.C.; Cohen (1978) also reported coca from Ancon with a date of 1400-1800 B.C. Coca leaves were also one of the items (along with maize and marine shells) stockpiled ina group of storage structures at Huancayo Alto in the Chill6n Valley, dating between 200-800 B.C. (Dillehay, 1979). None of these earliest records of archeological coca have been botan- ically identified. Preserved coca leaves from much later sites on the Peruvian coast have been available for study and form the basis of the present investigation (Table 1). These include specimens from Vista Alegre in the Rimac Valley (ca. 600-1000 A.D.), which 300 were illustrated by Towle (1961, Plate IV: 5); from the Yauca Valley (Late Horizon, Plates 35 and 36); from Monte Grande in the Rio Grande Valley and in the environs of Nazca (“Cultura Nazca”); from the Taruga Valley (Plates 33 and 34) and Ocucaje (Late Horizon) and at Chacota near Arica in northermost Chile (Inca Period). Griffiths (1930) has made the only detailed anatomical study of archeological coca leaves from a grave at Nazca. Based on comparison with commercial coca leaves, she concluded that they belonged to the variety then known as “Peruvian” coca, an earlier pharmaceutical trade name for Trujillo coca. Our re- examination of her data and illustrations confirm the identity of her specimens as Trujillo coca, although we have not located her original material. Griffith’s leaf illustrations conform entirely to our typological concept of Trujillo coca in both qualitative and statistical aspects of foliar size, form, venation and anatomy. Towle (1952) reported “leaf tissue found rolled into a quid” in a mummy bundle from the Paracas Necropolis on the southern coast of Peru and noted that it “would suggest the leaves of coca (Erythroxylum Coca Lam.).” Towle was apparently unfamiliar with Griffith’s earlier study and did not have authentic material of Trujillo coca for comparison. She concluded that the leaf fragments were “too small and brittle” to permit their botanical identification. Coca endocarps from Nazca were identified by Griffiths (loc. cit.) as Trujillo coca, whereas those found at Vista Alegre were referred to “Erythroxylum Coca” by Towle (1961). More recently, endocarps were excavated at Chilca (Late Intermediate Period) by Jeffrey Parsons (pers. comm.). Although not included in the present study, all archeological coca endocarps which we have examined are referable to Trujillo coca. In the present contribution, we examine the leaf morphology and anatomy of available archeological leaf specimens and compare them with modern samples of leaves of the cultivated cocas presently grown in South America. Because archeological material often provides only isolated or fragmented leaves, as noted by Towle (1952), it is essential to consider in detail the 301 microscopic features of coca leaves of each variety and compare them with the same characters in the archeological specimens. As an aid to the identification of coca leaves and leaf fragments, we have summarized in Table 3 those structural details which are useful in the determination of cultivated coca leaf specimens. Details of foliar venation are presented in Table 4 and selected leaf anatomical features are presented in Table 5. A comprehensive review of taxonomically useful leaf structural features in Erythroxylum can be found in an earlier publication (Rury, 1981). MATERIALS Archeological coca specimens were obtained from the follow- ing museum collections: Ethnobotany Laboratory, Botanical Museum, Harvard University; Lowie Museum of Anthro- pology, University of California, Berkeley; and the Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’, Lima, Peru. Additional speci- mens of archeological leaves were studied at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, and of coca endocarps from the collection of Dr. Jeffrey Parsons. All of these specimens originated in coastal Peru or adjacent northernmost Chile; in most cases the leaves were included in woven coca bags found in burials. The specimens at the Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’ were originally found in coca bags preserved at the Museo Regional de Ica, Peru. They were supplied by the director, Sr. Alejandro Pezzia A. to Dra. Maria Rostworowski, who in turn presented them to Dr. Ramon Ferreyra for identification (cf. Rostworowski, 1973: 205). The archeological coca specimens are listed in Table 1. Recent specimens of cultivated coca varieties were taken from the herbarium specimens listed in Table 2. Location of voucher specimens (including duplicate specimens) are listed according to herbarium abbreviations suggested by Holmgren, Keuken and Schofield (1981). All recent coca specimens were determined by Plowman. 302 METHODS Six archeological (Table 1) and thirty recent (Table 2) leaf specimens of the cultivated cocas were prepared for microscopic examination. All of these leaves were cleared in a 5% aqueous solution of NaOH, either at room temperature (archeological), or in an oven at ca. 70°C. (recent). Cleared leaves were stained with a 1% solution of safranin in 50% ethanol for several days, then dehydrated with ethanol, treated with xylene and mounted permanently on microscope slides in Canada balsam. Recent leaves also were prepared for paraffin sectioning by con- ventional methods of botanical microtechnique. To obtain epidermal sheets for stomatal examination and counts, leaf fragments were macerated in Jeffrey’s macerating solution recipe from Johansen (1940). Numbers of freely terminating veinlets and stomata per mm? of leaf surface were microscopically determined, using 10-20 counts per leaf or leaf fragment. Stomatal counts and maximum guard cell lengths were measured either from cleared leaves (archeological) and/or macerated leaf epidermal sheets (recent). In order to provide a reliable comparison of their stomatal systems, the stomatal density (i.e. number per mm?) was corrected for relativistic differences in guard cell length among different specimens. Since stomatal size and relative number per unit of leaf area typically are inversely interrelated (Rury, 1981, 1982), it was necessary to calculate the percentage of leaf surface occupied by stomata (i.e. stomatal frequency) for comparative purposes. This calculation thus integrates guard cell length and stomatal density into a single, standardized measurement, which is especially useful when working with leaf fragments. Leaf venation terminology has been simplified as much as possible, but follows that of Mouton (1970) and Hickey (1973) with necessary additions and modifications. Illustrations were prepared using several techniques. Negative prints of foliar venation patterns of recent coca leaves were prepared by placing cleared leaf slides directly in the photo- graphic enlarger (Dilcher, 1974). Line drawings of foliar 303 venation and epidermal patterns were made for all specimens, using a Wild dissecting microscope with a drawing attachment. Several black and white photomicrographs of high order leaf venation, in both archeological and recent specimens, were made with a Zeiss photomicroscope, either with or without polarizing filters. RESULTS Archeological Leaf Specimens (Erythroxylum novogranatense var. truxillense) LEAF FORM: Leaves are relatively small in size, ranging from 23-40 mm. in length and 6-16 mm. in width. The leaf blade shape is mostly lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or slightly ob- lanceolate. Leaf bases are typically cuneate, with acute and conspicuously mucronulate apices. The central panel, demarc- ated by abaxial (on lower surface), longitudinal lines along either side of the midvein, is usually faint or sometimes absent, but may be prominent and enclose a finer reticulum of less conspicuous venation when compared with the exmedial (outer) portions of the leaf blade. LEAF VENATION: The primary vein (midvein) is moderately thick and follows a straight course from the leaf base to the apex. The basic vein pattern is only slightly variable, ranging between the eucamptodromous and brochidodromous configurations, with a festooned system of higher order, intramarginal, loop-forming veins (Plate 37). The basic vein patterns derive their appearance from the course and behavior of the secondary veins, in relation to one another, the midvein and the leaf margin. Each leaf contains from 7-15 slender, secondary veins which typically diverge from the midvein at moderately to widely acute angles (45-80° ) and follow a sinuous or smoothly upcurving course as they approach the leaf margin. These secondary veins then either (1) taper into a system of festooned, high order, intramarginal loops along the outer flanks of the superadjacent secondary veins (eucampto- dromous) or (2) recurve towards the midvein and join the outer flanks of the superadjacent secondary veins to form a series of 304 secondary vein arches (brochidodromous). The intercostal areas demarcated by these secondary veins are moderately uniform in their size and shape. Intersecondary veins of composite origin from the coalescence of tertiary veins, although few in number (2-7 per leaf), may occur within the intercostal areas. Intra- marginal veins of secondary Origin are absent from all leaves examined. Slender tertiary veins arise at widely acute to slightly obtuse angles (80-110°) along the inner and outer flanks of the secondary veins. These tertiary veins ramify towards the midvein and/or transversely within the intercostal areas to form a ramified, random reticulum of non-oriented, polygonal, tertiary areoles. These tertiary areoles are further subdivided by ramified fourth and fifth order veinlets into a random reticulum of many, moderately well developed and small, polygonal or quad- rangular areoles. The mean number of freely terminating veinlets ranges between 16-30 per mm-, with an overall mean of 22 per mm? (Table 4). Veinlet terminations are typically tracheoid with spiral or pitted secondary cell walls (Plate 38). Tracheoidal idioblasts and fibrous sclereids were absent from all leaf specimens examined. The marginal ultimate venation of these leaves consists of second through fourth order, loop- forming veins and veinlets, which promote the “festooned” appearance of the overall venation patterns. EPIDERMIS: The epidermal cells of all leaves are polygonal in surface view, with straight walls. Cells of the upper epidermis are of uniform size but are consistently larger than those of the lower epidermis. Cells of the lower epidermis, however, may reveal a greater degree of size variation than those of the upper epidermis. In all leaves, stomata are restricted to the lower surface and are strictly of the paracytic type, with one pair of subsidiary cells aligned parallel to the long axis of each stomate (Plate 37E, F). Guard cell lengths do not exceed 25um in any of the stomata, and mean stomatal density ranges between 156-203 per mm?, with an overall mean of 183 per mm? (Table 5). Stomatal frequency, calculated as the relative percentage of leaf surface 305 occupied by stomata, averages 11.4%, and specimen means range between 10-13% (Table 5). Epidermal papillae are either absent (e.g. Nazca #8), sparse or prominent, but are consistently restricted to the lower epidermal cells (Plate 37D, E, F). Papillae are always absent from both the guard cells and their associated subsidiary cells of all stomata on the lower leaf surface. CRYSTALS: Vein-associated prismatic or rhomboidal crystals of calcium oxalate are typically very abundant and may occur also in cells of either epidermal surface (Plate 38). FOLIAR SCLEREIDS: No foliar sclereids of any type were observed in the archeological leaves examined. RECENT LEAF SPECIMENS LEAF FORM AND VENATION: Although leaves of the cultivated cocas may exhibit similar and intergrading forms and patterns of low and high order venation, a typological concept of leaf form and venation can be formulated for them. The leaf venation patterns which are considered “typical” for each of the cultivated cocas are summarized in Table 4. These diagnoses are based on observations of many more specimens than were prepared for microscopic study (Table 2), and microscopic examination was performed only on selected specimens which represent the full range of variability within each variety. Leaves of Amazonian coca (Erythroxylum Coca var. Ipadu) are not sufficiently distinct from those of E. Coca var. Coca in their leaf venation to warrant separate description. It should be noted, nevertheless, that particular leaf specimens may diverge from this overall diagnosis in details of both low and high order venation as well as in leaf form. Leaves are small to medium in size, ranging from 20-115 mm. in length and 10-24 mm. in width. Leaves of Trujillo coca typically are the smallest, whereas those of Amazonian coca attain the largest sizes. All varieties of cultivated coca possess an acute or cuneate leaf base. Leaf shape varies both within and among varieties, but may be characterized as follows for each variety: (1) E. Coca var. Coca, broadly lanceolate to elliptic, 306 with an acute and conspicuously mucronulate apex; (2) E. Coca var. [padu, broadly elliptic, with an acute to obtuse, con- spicuously mucronulate apex; (3) E. novogranatense var. novogranatense, oblong to oblong-elliptic (rarely obovate), with an obtuse to rounded or emarginate, rarely mucronulate apex; and (4) E. novogranatense var. truxillense, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, with an acute, minutely mucronulate apex. Although foliar form is more or less diagnostic for particular coca varieties, the full range of variation among the leaves of the four varieties constitutes a continuum of shapes and sizes (Plate 39). Isolated leaves and leaf fragments, therefore, cannot be reliably identified on the basis of leaf form and _ size alone. A combination of both macro- and micromorphological features is required for accurate taxonomic identifications of coca leaves. The central panel, demarcated by a pair of abaxial “lines” (anatomically, collenchyma ridges: Rury, 1981) running parallel to and on either side of the midvein, is of variable occurrence and prominence among the cultivated cocas. The central] panel may be conspicuous, due to its markedly finer and _ less prominent vein reticulum in E. Coca var. Coca and E novogranatense var. novogranatense, but often is very faint or entirely lacking in some leaves of E. Coca var. Ipadu and E. novogranatense var. truxillense, owing to overall uniformity of the vein reticulum throughout the leaf. Statistically significant differences may occur in both stomatal and veinlet termination numbers, within versus outside of the central panel, when this feature is prominent in leaves of each variety (Rury, 1982). Careful attention, therefore, must be given to the position in the leaf at which such data are gathered. The primary vein (midvein) is of moderate diameter and follows a straight course from the leaf base into its apex. The basic venation patterns vary moderately, both within and among coca varieties, ranging from eucamptodromous to brochido- dromous, with a festooned system of intramarginal, loop- forming veins and veinlets (Table 4). Leaves of E. novo- granatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca) are the most variable of all varieties in their overall venation pattern, which may range between the eucamptodromous type characteristic of both 307 varieties of FE. Coca and the brochidodromous pattern typical of E. novogranatense var. novogranatense. As will be discussed in greater detail later, such extensive variation in leaf form and venation can usually be explained ecologically, in relation to differences in microhabitat experienced by individual leaves or plants, but it is also an indication of the intermediate nature of Trujillo coca between E. Coca var. Coca and E. novogranatense var. novogranatense. Secondary veins of both varieties of E. Coca typically are numerous (15-40 per leaf), closely spaced and of moderate thickness. In both varieties of E. novogranatense, they are usually fewer (8-18 per leaf), more widely spaced and more slender (Plate 39). Secondary vein divergence angles from the midvein range between widely acute to perpendicular (80—90° , E. Coca vars., E. novogranatense var. truxillense) and narrowly to widely acute (40-80°, E. novogranatense var. novograna- tense, some specimens of FE. novogranatense var. truxillense). Secondary veins follow an initially straight, regular (E. Coca vars.) or sinuous (£. novogranatense vars.) course, and gradu- ally upcurve as they approach the leaf margins. The subsequent branching behavior of these veins determines the basic con- figuration of the overall venation pattern. These secondary veins then either: (1) taper into a festooned system of high order, intramarginal loops along the outer flanks of the superadjacent secondary veins (eucamptodromous, FE. Coca vars.) or (2) recurve admedially (inward towards midvein) near the margin and join these superadjacent secondaries at widely acute to obtuse angles (80-100°) to form a series of (secondary) vein arches (brochidodromous, FE. novogranatense var. novograna- tense). Secondary veins of E. Coca varieties and E. novo- granatense var. truxillense normally are thicker, more prom- inent and more numerous than in leaves of E. novogranatense var. novogranatense. Secondary veins thus demarcate inter- costal areas which are both more numerous and of greater uniformity in size and shape in leaves of E. Coca varieties and E. novogranatense var. truxillense than in most leaves of FE. novo- granatense var. novogranatense. Intersecondary veins of com- posite origin are very few, but when present they are most 308 numerous in the larger intercostal areas of E novogranatense var. novogranatense. Intramarginal veins of secondary origin are absent from leaves of all varieties. Slender tertiary veins arise at widely acute to slightly obtuse angles (80-100°) along the admedial (inner) and exmedial (outer) flanks of the secondary veins and ramify within the intercostal areas to form non-oriented, polygonal, tertiary areoles of various sizes. Tertiary areoles tend to be slightly smaller and most numerous in both varieties of E. Coca. Conversely, leaves of E. novogranatense var. novogranatense typically have fewer but larger intercostal areas and tertiary areoles than do those of either variety of E. Coca. Leaves of E. novogranatense var. truxillense are often intermediate in this respect but may reveal the full range of patterns exhibited collectively among leaves of the other three varieties (Plate 40). All tertiary areoles are subdivided by a random reticulum of slender, fourth and fifth order veinlets, which constitute a moderately well developed system of small, non-oriented, polygonal and quadrangular areoles. This system of areoles is best developed (i.e. most completely closed) and contains more numerous areoles in both varieties of E. Coca, whereas leaves of E. novogranatense varieties normally have a more open system of fewer and slightly larger areoles (Plates 39 and 40). The relative number of freely terminating veinlets in coca leaves serves as a quantification of qualitative differences in high order venation and areolation among the four cultivated varieties. Leaves of E. Coca varieties often contain fewer veinlet termini per mm? and thus have more numerous ultimate areoles than do those of either variety of E. novogranatense (Table 5; Plates 39 and 40). Although leaves of E. novogranatense var. truxillense have the highest veinlet termination numbers of all coca varieties, they may show a degree of variation equal to that observed collectively among the other three varieties, as is the case with qualitative aspects of their form and venation (Table 5). Veinlet termini are typically tracheoid with spiral or pitted secondary walls (Plate 40). Tracheoid idioblasts were not observed in any variety. The marginal ultimate venation of all coca leaves consists of 309 second through fourth order, loop-forming veins which promote its “festooned” appearance due to the nearly complete closure of the intramarginal, loop-forming veinlets. EPIDERMIS: Epidermal cells typically are polygonal in surface view with straight lateral walls. The cells are larger in the upper epidermis, although their sizes are normally uniform within each surface layer. Epidermal cell walls appear slightly sinuous only rarely in occasional specimens of E. novogranatense var. novo- granatense. Stomata are of the paracytic type, with their paired subsidiary cells aligned parallel to the long axis of the guard cells, and are restricted to the lower epidermis in all leaves (Plate 37). Statistical data for stomatal density, frequency and guard cell size are summarized in Table 5. Epidermal papillae are prominent and abundant but confined to the lower surface of the leaves. They are always absent from the guard cells and associated subsidiary cells of the stomatal apparatus. CRYSTALS: Vein-associated, prismatic (rhomboidal) crystals of calcium oxalate may be abundant, sparse or absent in all coca leaf varieties. Prismatic crystals also may occur in clusters of anticlinally subdivided cells of the lower and upper epidermis in all varieties. FOLIAR SCLEREIDS: Foliar sclereids are typically absent from all cultivated coca leaves but may be characteristic of other species of Erythroxylum (Rury, 1981, 1982). DISCUSSION LEAF STRUCTURAL PLASTICITY OF COCA LEAVES Light intensity, humidity and moisture availability may influence profoundly the relative leaf size, form, vein thickness and patterns, as well as stomatal and veinlet terminus numbers in all varieties of cultivated coca (Rury, 1981, 1982). Classical shade-leaf as opposed to sun-leaf structural differences may be found within each variety in relation to microhabitat differences experienced by individual plants and leaves. Humid and shady 310 microhabitat conditions result normally in the development of relatively large, thin leaves with reduced numbers of stomata and veinlet termini per unit area, as well as more slender and less conspicuous veins. Conversely, sunny and drier habitats induce the formation of small and thicker leaves with comparatively more numerous stomata and veinlet termini, and more prom- inent, thicker veins. Shade-leaf morphology appears not only in South American coca plants grown under shaded conditions, but also in plants of each variety cultivated under glass at temperate latitudes in North America (Rury, 1982: Plate 39D, E). Due to this habitat-related plasticity in the structure of coca leaves as well as their intergrading patterns of leaf structural variation among the four varieties, identifications of coca leaves and leaf fragments are often problematic (and ill-advised) in the absence of relevant ecological and geographic data for the specimens under consideration. The taxonomically most useful structural features of cultivated coca leaves are summarized in Table 3. COMPARISON OF ARCHEOLOGICAL AND RECENT COCA LEAVES Although superficially similar in form and venation, leaves of the four modern varieties of cultivated coca can be distinguished on the basis of subtle differences in shape and size, central panel prominence, details of low and high order venation, and stomatal features, especially when such data are integrated with ecological and geographic information for the specimens. On similar grounds, it is possible to determine the specific and varietal affinities of archeological coca leaves. Selected leaf structural features of both archeological and recent coca plants from South America are summarized in Table 5. These statistical data are of taxonomic value, however, only when assessed together with qualitative aspects of leaf structure. The archeological leaves studied here clearly are more similar to recent leaves of the cultivated cocas than to any wild species of Erythroxylum (see Tables 3, 4). Although several wild species of Erythroxylum of the neotropical section Archerythroxylum (sensu Schulz, 1907) may resemble cultivated coca varieties in 311 their leaf structure, the archeological leaves studied here are easily distinguished from any wild “coca mimics” (Rury, 1981, 1982). Features shared by archeological and recent coca leaves include their: (1) size and form; (2) variable prominence of a central panel on the lower leaf surface; (3) patterns of low and high order venation; (4) comparable numbers of freely terminat- ing veinlets per mm? of leaf area; (5) polygonal epidermal cells with straight (anticlinal) walls; (6) epidermal papillae restricted to the lower leaf surface; (7) paracytic stomata of similar dimensions and numbers, also restricted to the lower leaf surface; and (8) numerous prismatic crystals associated with veins and occurring within subdivided epidermal cells. All archeological coca leaves studied here are morphologically identical to recent leaves of Trujillo coca (E. novogranatense var. truxillense) in their small size, mostly lanceolate shape, acute leaf apices and cuneate leaf bases, as well as their reduced prominence of a central panel. As in recent Trujillo coca, the archeological leaves reveal a basic foliar venation pattern which is intermediate between the characteristic eucamptodromous configuration of E. Coca var. Coca and the slender-veined, brochidodromous pattern of most leaves of E. novogranatense var. novogranatense. Details of leaf venation in the archeo- logical leaves which conform to our typology for Trujillo coca include: (1) the divergence angles and irregular course of the secondary veins; (2) an intermediate number of secondary veins and intercostal areas; (3) a relatively incomplete (open) system of high order venation, with (4) a rather large number of freely terminating veinlets. Statistical details of Erythroxylum leaf structure are both ecologically more variable and taxonomically less reliable than qualitative aspects of foliar form, venation and anatomy. Nevertheless, our archeological leaves fall clearly within the range of statistical variation in stomatal and venation systems observed among leaves of all four modern coca varieties (Table 5). The archeological leaves are more similar in these features to both varieties of E. novogranatense than to either variety of E. Coca, but most closely resemble leaves of Trujillo coca in their 312 larger stomata, reduced stomatal frequency and higher number of veinlet termini (Table 5). Surprisingly, the archeological leaves examined here possess much larger but fewer stomata per unit of leaf surface (i.e., stomatal density) than do modern leaves of the same Trujillo variety. Perhaps the archeological leaves reflect a real difference in the stomatal system of ancient versus recent Trujillo coca, although more samples of both archeological and modern leaves are needed to evaluate this possibility. Alternatively, the combination of large and sparse stomata may merely reflect the inverse relationship between stomatal density and the sizes of both individual leaves and their stomata, as previously noted for diverse, pantropical species of Erythroxylum (Rury 1981, 1982). Due to such habitat-related, morphogenetic effects upon mature coca leaf structure (for example, sun- vs. shade-form leaves), the stomatal frequency provides a more reliable basis for compari- sons among coca leaves, since it integrates both stomatal size and density into a single, standard measurement. Although the geographic origin of and ecological conditions experienced by the archeological coca leaves are uncertain, their structural conformity with the anatomical profile of modern, drought-adapted Trujillo coca from the arid Peruvian coast suggests that they were grown in a similarly xeric environment. Significantly, the coca leaf (Trujillo) illustrated by Griffiths (1930) also shows drought-adaptive anatomical details char- acteristic of modern Trujillo coca, such as sunken stomata sparsely distributed over the lower epidermis, and a small, lanceolate leaf morphology. This further supports the con- tention (Plowman, in press) that drought-resistent Trujillo coca was being grown at an early date on the desert coast of Peru. PROBLEMS IN THE ARCHEOLOGY OF COCA In most cases in the past, archeological coca leaves from the Peruvian coast have been identified by both botanists and archeologists as Erythroxylum Coca (var. Coca). Harms (1922) was the first botanist to identify the small-leaved coca from coastal Peruvian sites as E. novogranatense, since he was familiar with the taxonomic studies on Erythroxylum by his 313 colleague O. E. Schulz (1907). Many authors, however, unaware of the existence of the coastal variety Trujillo coca, have suggested that the presence of archeological coca on the Peruvian coast implied extensive, early trans-Andean trade in coca from the eastern Andes to the coast (Sauer, 1950; Lanning, 1967; Cohen, 1978; Dobkin de Rios, 1981). Although trade in leaves of FE. Coca var. Coca from the eastern Andes to the coast may have occurred on a small scale, there is little evidence for it from archeological remains. Only Mortimer (1901) reported and illustrated leaves of this variety from the coast (from a burial at Arica, Chile) which from the illustrations are clearly referable to E. Coca var. Coca. This suggests that at least some leaves of this variety may have been traded across the Andes but most likely Trujillo coca was the principal variety used on the coast. Although samples of archeological coca discovered to date are limited primarily to Trujillo coca from coastal Peru, future discoveries of archeological leaves have great potential for shedding new light on the early evolution, domestication and diffusion of coca in the Andean region and may possibly serve as cultural markers for early human contacts in the area. It is hoped that this study will stimulate archeologists to search for remains in older sites and in new areas in order to elucidate further the early events in the evolution of cultivated coca. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank the following persons and institutions for permitting us to study their collections of archeological coca: Prof. Ramon Ferreyra, Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’, Lima, Peru; Dr. Larry Dawson, Lowie Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley; Prof. Richard Evans Schultes, Botanical Museum of Harvard University; Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University; and Dr. Jeffrey Parsons. We are also grateful to the curators of the following herbaria for providing access to their collections of Erythroxylum: COL, ECON, F, GH, K, MOL, NCSC, NCU, NY, P, SEL, US, and USM. 314 We are grateful to Peggy Lee Fiedler who assisted in the early stage of gathering the literature on archeological coca and to Jeff Boeke and Wade Davis for furnishing critical specimens used in this study. Jose Schunke V. was instrumental in providing valuable assistance during field work in Peru. Dr. Maria Rostworowski de Diez Canseco helped us to determine the origin of archeological specimens in Peru. Dr. Michael Mosely and Dr. Robert Feldman provided us with archeological coca specimens and alerted us to the existence of materials at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology. The Lowie Museum kindly furnished us with photographs of their specimens to illustrate the: text. Part of the research (T.P.) reported in this paper was sup- ported through a contract with the United States Department of Agriculture (no. 12-14-1001-230) and by a grant from the Na- tional Institute of Drug Abuse (no. 5 ROI DA02210-02). Field work (T.P.) in Peru was supported by the Field Museum of Natural History and by the National Science Foundation during the Alpha Helix Amazon Expedition Phase VII (grant no. GB- a7 130): Parts of the research reported here are based on portions of a doctoral dissertation (Rury, 1982) written at the University of North Carolina. This doctoral research was supported in part by the William C. Coker Fellowship and the Smith Fund for Dissertation Improvement at the University of North Carolina. Field studies in Peru(P.R.) during 1981-1982 were supported by the Katharine W. Atkins Fund of Harvard University. We gratefully acknowledge the full cooperation and generous assistance of the authorities and staff of both the Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’ and the Empresa Nacional de la Coca (ENACO), Lima, Peru. 315 9It Collector Description Provenance Approximate Age Museum and Accession Number Max Uhle! Coca leaves Peru: Dept. Arequipa. Inca, Late Horizon Lowie Museum 4-8225 contained in Yauca Valley, Lampilla. (1476-1534 A.D.) woollen bag Max Uhle Coca leaves Peru: Dept. Ica. Ocucaje. Late Horizon. Lowie Museum 4-4519 contained in Cerro Uhle. (1476-1534 A.D.) woollen bag Max Uhle Coca leaves Peru: Dept. Ica. Chulpaca. Late intermediate Lowie Museum 4-4372 contained in period woollen bag Max Uhle Coca leaves Peru: Dept. Arequipa. “Mochica” Lowie Museum 4-8268a contained in Acari. woven bag Wattis Coca leaves Peru: Dept. Ica. Taruga Late Horizon Lowie Museum 16-13426 collection contained in Valley. Atarco II site, cotton bag Inca Cemetery. John M. Blake Coca leaves Chile: Bay of Chacota, Inca Period. Peabody Museum, Harvard (1836) from woollen 1.5 mi. south of Arica. University, 13072 bag. TABLE 1 ARCHEOLOGICAL COCA SPECIMENS EXAMINED (ALL REFERABLE TO ERYTHROX YLUM NOVOGRANATENSE VAR. TRUXILLENSE) Inca Cemetery. bit L. M. Stumer (1953-1955) L. M. Stumer'! (1953-1955) Unknown, “Nazca no. |”! Unknown, “Nazca no. 4”" Unknown, “Nazca no. 6”! Unknown, “Nazca no. 8”! J. Parsons Fragments of coca leaves and twigs Broken coca leaves and two small endocarps Leaf fragments Leaf fragments from “bolsa de piel” Leaf fragments from “bolsa de la cultura Nazca” Leaf fragments from “bolsa de la cultura Nazca” Four coca endocarps Peru: Dept. Lima. Rimac Valley. Vista Alegre. Peru: Dept. Lima. Rimac Valley. Vista Alegre. Peru: Dept. Ica. Nazca region. Peru: Dept. Ica. Nazca region. Peru: Dept. Ica. Rio Grande valley. Hacienda Monte Grande Peru: Dept. Ica. Nazca region. Hacienda Cahuachi. Peru: Dept. Lima Chilca. Probably Late Horizon Probably Late Horizon. % “Cultura Nazca’ “Cultura Nazca” . “Cultura Nazca’ “Cultura Nazca” Late intermediate period (post 1100 A.D.) Botanical Museum, Harvard University, 10-116, 10-117. Botanical Museum, Harvard University, 10-124. Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’. Original material from Museo Regional de Ica. Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’. Original material from Museo Regional de Ica. Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’. Original material from Museo Regional de Ica. Museo de Historia Natural ‘Javier Prado’. Original material from Museo Regional de Ica. J. Parsons collection. 'Material prepared for anatomical study. 8It Species & Variety E. Coca Lam. var. Coca TABLE 2 RECENT LEAF SPECIMENS OF CULTIVATED COCA (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP.) EXAMINED Locality (Country & Location of Voucher Collector & Number ! Department? Herbarium Specimens} Cook & Gilbert 1711* PERU: Cuzco US Plowman & Kennedy 5793 PERU: Huanuco ECON, F, K, NCU, US, USM T. Plowman 5181* BOLIVIA: La Paz COL, ECON, P, US T. Plowman 5827* PERU: Huanuco ECON, F, K, NCU, US, USM T. Plowman 5830 PERU: Huanuco ECON, F, K, NCU, USM T. Plowman 5833 PERU: Hudanuco ECON, F, K, NCU, USM T. Plowman 5839 PERU: Hudanuco ECON, F, NCU, USM T. Plowman 5862 PERU: Huanuco ECON, F, NCU, USM T. Plowman 5932 PERU: Huanuco F, GH, NCU, USM T. Plowman 5975 PERU: Hudanuco ECON, F, K, NCU, NY, SP, US, USM T. Plowman 6042 PERU: San Martin AAU, ECON, F, K, NCU, US, USM T. Plowman 6061* PERU: Hudanuco ECON, F, NCU, USM, VEN Plowman & Schunke 7510* PERU: San Martin ECON, F, NCU, P, USM Plowman et al. 11271 PERU: Huanuco ECON, F, USM Plowman et al. 11272 PERU: Huanuco ECON, F, USM P. M. Rury 320 PERU: Cuzco ECON, USM P. M. Rury 321 PERU: Cuzco ECON, USM P. M. Rury 322 PERU: Cuzco ECON, USM P. M. Rury 323 PERU: Cuzco ECON, USM P. M. Rury 324 PERU: Cuzco ECON, USM 6lt E. Coca var. Ipadu Plowman E. W. Davis 10 E. W. Davis 19* Plowman et al. 6748 Plowman et al. 7136 R. Spruce 73* COLOMBIA: Vaupés COLOMBIA: Vaupés PERU: Loreto PERU: Loreto BRAZIL: Amazonas ECON, GH, K, MO, NCU, P, US ECON, F, K, MO, NY, US ECON, F, K, NCU, USM AAU, ECON, F, INPA, K, LA, NCU, UBC, USM, VEN K US J. Torres 167 PERU: Loreto ECON, F, NCU E. novogranatense O. F. Cook 98* COLOMBIA: Narifio US (Morris) Hieron. var. novogranatense E. W. Davis 557* COLOMBIA: Cesar ECON, F Lehmann 4737* COLOMBIA: Cauca F, GH, K, P, US T. Plowman 2020* COLOMBIA: Putumayo COL, ECON, F, K, S, US Plowman & Davis 3684* COLOMBIA: Cesar COL, ECON, NCU T. Plowman 3734* COLOMBIA: Antidquia COL, ECON, F, S, US Plowman et al. 3768 COLOMBIA: Cauca ECON T. Plowman 4144* COLOMBIA: Huila COL, ECON, F, US Plowman & Davis 4152* COLOMBIA: Huila COL, ECON, F, US Plowman & Vaughan 5272* COLOMBIA: EI! Valle COL, ECON, F, K, NCU, US, USM T. Plowman 5382* COLOMBIA: Cauca COL, ECON, F, USM Plowman & Vaughn 5385 COLOMBIA: Cauca COL, ECON, F, NCU T. Plowman 7600 ex 5373 PERU: Lima COL, ECON, F, K,-US T. Plowman 7670 VENEZUELA: Caracas COL, F, NCU, NY, U, US, VEN Plowman & Rury 10980 PERU: Lima COL, ECON, F, K, MO, NY, U, , USM OcE Species & Variety E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Rusby) Plowman TABLE 2 (continued) RECENT LEAF SPECIMENS OF CULTIVATED COCA (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP.) EXAMINED Collector & Number ! J. D. Boeke 854* R. Ferreyra s.n.* (ECON 34259) R. Ferreyra s.n.* (ECON 34275) E. Machado 1256* Madison er al. 4447* Madison et al. 4920* T. Plowman 5565 Plowman 5583* Plowman 5588 Plowman 5600* Plowman 5605 Plowman 5606* Plowman 5612 Plowman 5618* a ae Ba oe i ae . Plowman 6228 ex 5590 Locality (Country & Department P COLOMBIA: Narifio PERU: La Libertad PERU: La Libertad PERU: San Martin ECUADOR: Carchi ECUADOR: Carchi PERU: Amazonas PERU: Amazonas PERU: Amazonas PERU: La Libertad PERU: La Libertad PERU: La Libertad PERU: La Libertad PERU: La Libertad USA: Cult. ex PERU: Amazonas Location of Voucher Herbarium Specimens} ECON, USM ECON, USM MOL, NCSC, US FP, NCU, SEL F, NCU, SEL ECON, F, NCU, RB, USM ECON, F, K, NCU, US, USM ECON, F, NCU, USM ECON, F, USM ECON, F, NCU, USM B, ECON, F, NCU, USM, VT ECON, F, K, NCU, USM ECON, F, USM ECON, F, NCU 1et ‘T. Plowman 6242 ex 5583 USA: Cult. ex NCU PERU: Amazonas P. M. Rury 300 PERU: Cajamarca ECON, USM P. M. Rury 301 PERU: Cajamarca ECON, USM P. M. Rury 302 PERU: La Libertad ECON, USM P. M. Rury 303 PERU: La Libertad ECON, USM P. M. Rury 304 PERU: La Libertad ECON, USM P. M. Rury 305 PERU: La Libertad ECON, USM P. M. Rury 306 PERU: La Libertad ECON, USM H. H. Rusby s.n. (NYBG Commercial sample ECON, F Economic Museum #5463) from Parke Davis & Co., from Rusby’s Materia Medica collection ‘Anatomical data presented in Table 4 derived from collections marked with an asterisk (*). *Localities described as country and department (state) of origin. 3Location of herbarium voucher specimens-herbarium designations follow Index Herbariorum ed. 7, (Holmgren, Keuken & Schofield, 1981). TABLE 3 TAXONOMICALLY USEFUL LEAF STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE CULTIVATED COCAS (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP. & VARS.) CHARACTER Prominence of central panel* Leaf venation patterns Adaxial crest above midvein* Presence and nature of midvein fibrous sheathing (pericycle) Veinlet termination numbers* Guard cell length* Stomatal density and frequency* Leaf thickness* UTILITY Typologically useful; most variable among leaves of Trujillo coca. Typologically useful (see Table 4) Limited value typologically. Typologically useful; most variable in Trujillo coca. Ecologically and biometrically variable within each variety. Ecologically and biometrically variable within each variety Ecologically and biometrically variable within each variety Ecologically and biometrically variable within each variety *Indicates characters which are most reliable when used with other morphological, ecological and geographic data. 322 CCE BASIC PATTERN SECONDARY VEINS INTERCOSTAL AREAS TABLE 4 LEAF VENATION PATTERNS OF THE CULTIVATED COCAS (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP.) E. Coca Lam. (including var. Coca & var. Ipadu Plowman Intergrading series of patterns occur both within and between these varieties: festoo to transitional (intermediate) ro Many (15-40), closely spaced and moderately thick veins; diverging from the midvein at wide acute or 90 degree angles; following a regular, initially straight and ex- medially upcurving course. Relatively numerous and regu- lar in size and shape. E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Rusby) Plowman festooned brochidodromous. Generally similar to those of E. Coca, but exhibiting the full range of variation between typical leaves of E. Coca and E. novograna- tense var. novogranatense. Relatively numerous and regular in size and shape as in E. Coca or interme- diate between typical leaves of E. Coca and E. novograna- tense var. novogranatense. E. novogranatense var. novogranotense Fewer (8-18), more widely spaced, slender veins than E. Coca; diverging at nar- row to wide acute angles; following a less regular, exmedially upcurving course than in typical leaves of E. Coca. Fewer, larger and less regular in shape than in typical specimens of FE. Coca and E. novogranatense var. truxillense. ned eucamptodromous vce INTERSECONDARY VEINS TERTIARY VENATION HIGH ORDER VENATION TABLE 4 (continued) LEAF VENATION PATTERNS OF THE CULTIVATED COCAS (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP.) Composite in origin from tertiary veins; similar to secondary veins in divergence and course. Diverge from secondary veins at variable angles and form many small, non-oriented are- oles of irregular size and shape. Well developed, random or nearly orthogonal network of veinlets. Generally very similar to E. Coca or intermediate between those of EF. Coca and E. novo- granatense var. novograna- tense. Form many non-oriented are- oles that are of a size inter- mediate between those of E. Coca and E. novogranatense var. novogranatense. Most similar to E. Coca, but with full range of expression between the two species. Similar to, but usually more numerous per inter- costal area than, those of E. Coca. Similar to, but usually fewer and larger tertiary areoles than, those in E. Coca and E. novogranatense var. truxillense. Generally an incomplete, random network with more veinlet termini than E. Coca. STE Species and Variety E. Coca var. Coca E. Coca var. Ipadu E. novogranatense var. novogranatense E. novogranatense var. truxillense Recent Archeological TABLE 5 SELECTED ANATOMICAL FEATURES OF ARCHEOLOGICAL AND MODERN COCA LEAVES (ERYTHROXYLUM SPP.) Epidermal Papillae +/- Leaf Thickness 270 um (166-576) 281 wm (138-424) 358 um (212-505) 295 um (193-455) Veinlet Termini 20.5 mm? (16-25) 20 mm” (-20-) 22 mm” (-22-) 36 mm” (25-52) 22 mm” (16-30) Stomatal Density 389 mm? (341-448) 444 mm” (-444-) 247 mm” (-247-) 404 mm” (379-455) 183 mm? (156-203) Stomatal Length 20.7 wm (20-22) 20 pm (-20-) 20 um (-20-) 21 um (18-25) 25 um (-25-) Stomatal Frequency 16.3% (15-18) 16% (-18-) 8% (-8-) 18% (13-25) 11.4% (10-13) NOTE: Overall means given; range of specimen means shown in parentheses. Data are derived from specimens marked with an asterisk (*) in Tables | and 2 REFERENCES Bohm, B. A., F. R. Ganders and T. Plowman. 1982. Biosystematics and Evolution of Cultivated Coca (Erythroxylaceae). Systematic Botany u 121-133. Bray, W. and C. Dollery. 1983. Coca-chewing and high altitude stress: a spurious correlation. Current Anthropology 24:269-282. Cohen, M. N. 1978. Archaeological plant remains from the Central Coast of Peru. Nawpa Pacha 16: 36-37. Dilcher, D. L. 1974. Approaches to the identification of angiosperm leaf remains. Botanical Review 40: 1-157. Dillehay, T. D. 1979. Pre-Hispanic resource sharing in the central Andes. Science 204: 24-31. Dobkin de Rios, M. and M. Cardenas. 1980. Plant hallucinogens, sham- anism and Nazca ceramics. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 3: 233-246. Engel, F. 1963. A preceramic settlement on the Central Coast of Peru: Asia, Unit 1. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 53 (3): 1-139. Griffiths, C. O. 1930. Examination of coca leaves found in a pre-Incan grave. Quarterly Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 3: 52-58. Harms, H. 1922. Ubersicht der bisher in altperuanischer Grabern ge- fundenen Pflanzenreste. Festschrift Eduard Seler. Strecker & Schréder. Stuttgart. pp. 157-186. Hickey, L. J. 1973. Classification of the architecture of dicotyledonous leaves. American Journal of Botany 60: 17-33. Holmgren, P. K., W. Keuken, and E. K. Schofield. 1981. Index Herb- ariorum. Part I: The Herbaria of the World. Seventh Edition. Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema. Utrecht. 452 pp. Johansen, D. A. 1940. Plant Microtechnique. McGraw-Hill. New York. Lanning, E. P. 1967. Peru before the Incas. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Engelwood Cliffs, New Jersey. 216 pp. Lathrap, D. W., D. Collier and H. Chandra. 1976. Ancient Ecuador: Culture, Clay and Creativity, 3000-300 B.C. Field Museum of Natural History. 110 pp. Mortimer, W. G. 1901. History of Coca. J. H. Vail & Co. New York. Mouton, J. A. 1970. Architecture de la nervation foliare. Comptes Rendus du Congres National des Societes Savantes 3: 165-176. Patterson, T. C. 1971. Central Peru: its population and economy. Archaeol- ogy 24: 316-321. Plowman, T. 1979a. Botanical Perspectives on Coca. Journal of Psyche- delic Drugs 11: 103-117. 1979b, The identity of Amazonian and Trujillo coca. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University 27: 45-68. 1980. Amazonian coca. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 3: 195-225. 1982. The identification of coca (Erythroxylum species): 1860- 1910. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 84: 329-353. and L. Rivier. 1983. Cocaine and cinnamoylcocaine content of thirty-one species of Erythroxylum (Erythroxylaceae). Annals of Botany 51: 641-659. 326 in press. The origin, evolution and diffusion of coca (Ery- throxylum spp.) in South and Central America. Papers of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Rostworowski, M. de Diez Canseco. 1973. Plantaciones prehispanicas de coca en el vertiente del Pacifico. Revista del Museo Nacional (Lima) 39: 193-224, Rury, P. M. 1981. Systematic anatomy of Erythroxylum P. Browne: practical and evolutionary implications for the cultivated cocas. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 3: 229-263. 1982. Systematic Anatomy of the Erythroxylaceae. Doctoral Dissertation. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 461 pp. Sauer, C.O. 1950. Cultivated Plants of South and Central America. Jn J. H. Steward [ed.], Handbook of South American Indians. Vol 6. Physical Anthropology, Linguistics and Cultural Geography of South American Indians. Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulle- tin 143. pp. 487-543. Schultes, R. E. 1981. Coca in the northwest Amazon. Journal of Ethno- Pharmacology 3: 173-194. Schulz, O. E. 1907. Erythroxylaceae. In A. Engler [ed.], Das Pflanzenreich 4(134): 1-164. Towle, M. A. 1952. Plant remains from a Peruvian mummy bundle. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University 15(9): 223-246. 1961. The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru. Wenner-Gren Foundation. New York. pp. 58-60. 327 PLATE. 32 L | @SNATIIXOML “HWA FSNELYNYESOAON | GSNGIWNWESOAON “WA ZSNGLWNWEOOAON WITAXOWALANa fh RdvdI “HA Wooo WTIAXOMHLREa O Woo “AWA WOOD WITIAXOWHLANT @ os 328 Plate 32. Present distribution of the four varieties of cultivated coca based on herbarium collections: closed circles, E. Coca var. Coca; open circles, E. Coca var. Ipadu; closed stars, E. novogranatense var. novo- granatense; open stars, E. novogranatense var. trux- illense. 329 PLATE 33 Plate 33. Cotton bag containing leaves of Trujillo coca (E. novo- granatense var. truxillense). Froman Inca cemetery, Atarco II Site, Taruga Valley, Nazca, Peru. Wattis Collection. Lowie Museum of Anthropology accession no. 16-13426. Photograph courtesy of the Lowie Museum of Anthropology. Centimeter scale. 330 PLATE 34 Plate 34. Leaves of Trujillo coca (£. novogranatense var. trux- illense) from a cotton bag found in an Inca cemetery, Atarco II Site, Taruga Valley, Nazca, Peru. Wattis Collection. Lowie Museum of Anthropology accession no. 16-13426. Upper panel showing adaxial surface of leaves; lower panel showing abaxial surface. Photograph courtesy of the Lowie Museum of Anthropology. Millimeter scale. 331 PLATE 35 Plate 35. Red tapestry woollen pouch containing leaves of Trujillo coca (E. novogranatense var. truxillense). Late Horizon (Inca). Collected by Max Uhle. Lampilla, Yauca Valley, Dept. Arequipa, Peru. Lowie Museum of Anthropology accession no, 4- 8225. Photograph courtesy of Lowie Museum of Anthropology. Centimeter scale. 332 PLATE 36 Plate 36. Leaves of Trujillo coca (E. novogranatense var. trux- illense) from a woollen pouch. Late Horizon (Inca). Collected by Max Uhle. Lampilla, Yauca Valley, Dept. Arequipa, Peru. Lowie Museum of Anthropology accession no. 4-8225. Upper panel showing adaxial surface of leaves; lower panel showing abaxial surface. Photograph courtesy of the Lowie Museum of Anthro- pology. Millimeter scale. BRK, Plate 37. Archeological and recent leaves of Trujillo coca (E. novogranatense var. truxillense). A. Cam- era lucida drawing of cleared leaf of Lowie Museum of Anthropology accession no. 4-8225 (see Plate 35). Centimeter scale. B. Camera lucida drawing of cleared leaf of Plowman 6228 ex 5590. Centimeter scale. C. Camera lucida drawing of cleared leaf of Harvard Botanical Museum Ethnobotanical accession no. 10-124. Centimeter scale. D. Camera lucida drawing of upper epidermis of cleared leaf, specimen “Nazca no. 4”. Scale = 50 um (micrometers). E. Cam- era lucida drawing of lower epidermis of cleared leaf, specimen “Nazca no. 8” Scale = 50 1m (micrometers). F. Camera lucida drawing of lower epidermis of cleared leaf showing papillae and stomata, specimen “Nazca no. 1”. Scale= 50 um(micrometers). G. Cam- era lucida drawing of lower epidermis, showing papillae and stomata, Plowman 6228 ex 5590. Scale = 50 wm (micrometers). 334 PLATE 37 SS C ) CRS > we pepe So ASCO @S,9a=, Sot \/ Re, (EEE AO LEY a ee w CS ENS AR SS RES | HI CC At 4 WI 2 <2 wre ZA OA ARH ASL Ss <4 NO Yaga = ARS ¢ Ox) sg this) aa0 Plate 38. Archeological leaf specimens of Trujillo coca (E. novogranatense var. truxillense). Photo- micrographs of cleared leaves, taken with partially polarized light. Crystals and lignified tissues (veins) appear bright white due to their positive birefringence in polarized light. Scale markers all = 100 wm (micrometers). A. Midvein, secondary and high order venation; note numerous crystals which appear as white flecks along veins and in mesophyll. Specimen “Nazca no. 8”. B. Midvein with secondary vein, tertiary vein and high order venation; note numerous crystals as in Plate 38A, but mostly in mesophyll. Cleared leaf specimen, Harvard Botanical Museum accession no. 10-124. C. Midvein and diverging secondary vein with many crystals. Cleared leaf specimen “Nazca no. 4”. D. Close-up of veinlet of “Nazca no. 4, shown at lower magnification in Plate 38C, revealing crystals along veinlet. 336 PLATE 38 Saf Plate 39. Leaf venation and geographic distribution of the cultivated cocas (Erythroxylum spp.). Centi- meter scale. This map is the same as that presented in Plate 32. A. E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Madison et al. 4447. B. E. novo- granatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Madison et al. 4920. C. E. novogranatense var. novogranatense (Colombian coca), Plowman 3734. D. E. novogra- natense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Plowman 6242 ex 5583, glasshouse cultivated progeny (seed) of specimen illustrated in Plate 39E. Note much larger, shade-leaf form of this glasshouse plant as compared with its parent in 39E. E. E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Plowman 5583. Typical sun-form leaf of parent of glasshouse plant shown above in Plate 39D. F. E. novogranatense var. novogranatense (Colombian coca), Plowman and Davis 4152. G. E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Plowman 5600. H. E. novograna- tense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Plowman 5618. Note the size differences between this and Plowman 5600 (Plate 39G), from the same locality. I. E. novo- granatense var. novogranatense (Colombian coca), Plowman 7600 ex 5373, planted from seed by Plow- man in Lima in 1976. J. E. Coca var. Coca (Bo- livian coca), Plowman 5827, local name “molle coca”. K. FE. Coca var. Coca (Bolivian coca), Plow- man 7510. L. E. Coca var. Ipadu (Amazonian coca), Spruce 73. 338 6£e 6€ ALV Id Plate 40. High order venation of recent, cleared leaves of the cultivated cocas (Erythroyxlum spp.). Photomicrographs taken without polarized light. Scale markers = 100 um (micrometers). A. E. novograna- lense var. novogranatense (Colombian coca), Plow- man and Davis 3684. B. E. novogranatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Boeke 854. C. E. novo- granatense var. truxillense (Trujillo coca), Plowman 5606. 340 PLATE 40 34] BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLET VoL. 29, No. 4 FALL 1983 DE PLANTIS TOXICARIIS E MUNDO NOVO TROPICALES COMMENTATIONES XXXIII ETHNOBOTANICAL, FLORISTIC AND NOMENCLATURAL NOTES ON PLANTS OF THE NORTHWEST AMAZON RICHARD EVANS SCHULTES There is little doubt that the northwestern part of the Amazon Valley—especially that part lying within the bound- aries of the Republic of Colombia—has a flora made up of more species than perhaps any other equal extension of the tropical world. It has been estimated that some 80,000 to 85,000 species of higher plants comprise its flora. The greater part of this vast assemblage of plant species has never been subjected to chemical study. In fact, there exist entire families endemic to this region of which we know nothing concerning the chemical constitution of the species. One method of focusing the attention of phytochemists and pharmacologists on this wealth of species is to explore the ethnobotanical knowledge which native peoples over the millenia have amassed by trial and error about the properties of plants in their ambient vegetation. During the course of many years of field work in the Colombian Amazon, I have been able to collect specimens of many medicinally esteemed species, to record a large number of plant names in the rapidly disappearing native languages and to collect several species or genera wholly unknown in the Colombian Amazon. This paper, then, offers a miscellany of notes, based primarily on field work, concerning native uses of plants and floristic and nomenclatural information on the flora of the Amazonia, primarily that part included in the Republic of Colombia. 343 The families are arranged in accord with the Engler-Prantl system of classification. The genera are listed alphabetically under the families. Most of the collections cited are preserved in the Gray Herbarium and/or in the Economic Herbarium of Oakes Ames, both at Harvard, and in the Herbario Nacional de Colombia in Bogota. TRICHOLOMATACEAE Marasmius Schultesii Singer in Fl. Neotrop. 17 (1976) 131. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas-Vaupeés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama (between Rios Pacoa and Kananari). July 3, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12869. This tiny mushroom, growing saprophytically on roots in upland forest above the flood level, is the only fungus that I ever collected in the northwest Amazon for its presumed medicinal use. It is not common, but where it occurs it seems to grow in relatively large patches. The Taiwano Indians of the region gather several handfuls and, after drying it in the sun, reduce it to a powder which is put into the ear to treat cases of fungal infection of the ear-drum. The powder is applied in the evening and must be washed out each morning. Several days of the treatment, according to the only Indian from whom this use was ascertained, are said to be sufficient to relieve this frequent ailment and to restore normal hearing and balance. The Taiwano name for mushrooms in general is e-kee’. This species is known as ta-te-e-kee’. PALMAE Mauritiella sp. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratoma. “In clumps, 5-10 together. Stems devoid of spines. Fruit ripens brown, smaller than usual species.” June 21, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12792. The fruits of this palm provide an oil which the local Indians employ to treat fungal infections of the skin. The oil is frequently utilized as a vehicle of other drug plants. 344 The Kuripako name is ka-da-na-ree-pe; in Puinave, the plant is known as kee. There are indications that other species of Mauritiella may be similarly used. MENISPERMACEAE Curarea toxifera (Wedd.) Barneby et Krukoff in Mem. N.Y. Bot. Jard. 22, pt. 2 (1971) 9. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios. April 2-5, 1942. Schultes 3522.—Rio Guaumués, Salvador. August-September 1963. Naranjo et Wiederhold 16.—Rio Putumayo, Remanso. October 22, 1966, Pinkley 392. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Macaya, Cachivera del Diablo. “Vine. Fruit yellow, bitter.” May 1943. Schultes 5526.— Rio Maku-parana. June 1-8, 1970. Silverwood-Cope 23. Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. “Woody vine.” January 3, 1973. Glenboski C-197.—Rio Amacayacu. No date. Diaz M. 10.—Lago de Tarapoto, Puerto Narifio. No date. Diaz M. 36. Ecuapor: Provincia del Napo, Rio Aguarico, Dureno. June 18, 1966. Pinkley 285. Peru: Departamento del Loreto, Iquitos region, Pucuruyacu. August 4, 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1204.— Rio Napo, Negro Urio. August 6, 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1266.—Same locality. August 16, 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1273— Rio Napo, Nunies Cocha. March 7, 1968. Tina et Tello 2066. This vine is used in the preparation of curare over a very wide area in the western Amazon. In the Iquitos region, it is employed to make “poison for hunting small birds and animals.” The Kofan Indians of Ecuador and Colombia, who call the vine sa-pe’-pa and ko-yu- vi-u-fa-se-he’-pa, crush the wood of the stem for elaborating one of their types of curare. It was formerly employed by the Karijonas of the upper Vaupés for the same purpose. The Witotos of Colombia and Peru valued it, calling the plant isavehio and taufe-yeida. Amongst the nomadic Bara-maku Indians of the Vaupés, who prepare from it a strong arrow poison much prized by neighbouring tribes, scrape the bark from the root for use; they call the plant awa-puch which means “monkey root.” 345 According to Glenboski, the Tikunas of the Rio Loretoyacu soak the bark in water to bathe wounds. It is locally called bejuco bravo. In Peru and Colombia, the vine is known as abuta, abuta amarilla and abuta hembra. MYRISTICACEAE Compsoneura Sprucei (A.DC.) Warburg in Nova Acta Acad. Leop-Carol. 68 (1897) 143. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Mitt and vicinity. “Bush. Flowers white.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24191. With a Dragendorff reagent, a spot test for alkaloids, this bush was negative. Iryanthera juruensis Warburg in Verh. Bot. Ver. Prov. Brand. 17 (1905) 137. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Leticia and vicinity. “Tree 50 feet. Fruit green.” August-September, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24105. This tree gave a negative test for alkaloids with a Dragendorff reagent spot test. Iryanthera Tessmannii Markgraf in Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 10 (1928) 236. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, region of Iquitos. Uchpacano. Alt. 120 m. “Blackish clay soil, lowland. Tree 25 m. tall, 30 cm. diameter. Cumala roja. January 30, 1968. Tina er Tello 2048. According to the collectors, the bark (no other part of the plant) is used in treating diarrhoeas. The decoction is prepared as follows: “Crush up 25 grams of fresh bark of cumala roja and mix with a big cup of water; then filter it and drink all the liquid you get (must be a big cup) twice a day, during two days. Repeat it [if] diarrhoea continues.” Iryanthera tricornis Ducke in Trop. Woods, no. 31 (1932) 11. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Purus, vicinity of Jamandi Indian village, Rio Apitua, tributary of Rio Purus. “Forest on terra firme. Tree 12 m. X 15 cm. diameter. Flowers green.” July 1, 1971. Prance, Maas et al. 13938. 346 Peru: Departamento de Loreto, Rio Nanay, Picuruyacu. January 15, 1968. Tina et Tello 2039. The local vernacular name for this species in Peru is reported to be pucuna caspi. Iryanthera Ulei Warburg in Verh. Bot. Ver. Prov. Brand. 47 (1905) 137. CoLomsiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. “Large tree.” September 28, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14168. Peru: Departamento de Loreto, region of Iquitos, Rio Itaya, San Antonio. “Tree, petals white, pistil light yellow-green. Resin reddish.” July 30, 1966. Martin et Lau-Cam 1185. “The Taiwano Indians of Colombia grind the bark and mix it with clay for the manufacture of pots.” The resin of this tree, locally called cumala colorada, is “put on cotton and applied to the roof off the mouth for patco, a disease where a white substance appears in a child’s mouth.” Osteophloeum platyspermum (4.DC.) Warburg in Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68 (1897) 162. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, basin of Rio Negro, Rio Uneiuxi, Maku Indian village, 300 km. above mouth. “Forest on terra firme. Tree 25 m. X 40 cm. diameter. Flowers green.” October 23, 1971. Prance, Maas et al. 15571. Estado do Amazonas, vicinity of Manaos, Rio Negro, Reserva Ducke. “Tree 90 feet.” April 11-14, 1972. Schultes et Rodrigues 26126a. According to the collectors, the Maku Indians who call this tree tugnebanpe, drink the sap as a cure for coughs and colds. In the vicinity of Manaos, woodcutters burn the leaves and inhale the smoke to relieve asthma. LEGUMINOSAE Adipera bicapsularis (L.) Britton et Rose, Sci. Survey Puerto Rico & Virgin Isl. 5 (1924) 370. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. “Large bush. Flowers yellow.” March 1946. Schultes 7170. Fhe inhabitants in the Leticia area call this shrubby treelet hoja de la pioja (“flea-leaf”). The dried leaves are pulverized, and the powder is used as a repellant of lice: it is dusted in hammocks and in clothing. 347 Calliandra angustifolia Spruce ex Bentham in Trans. Linn. Soc. 30 (1875) 539. CoLomBia: Comisaria del Putumayo, Remanso. August 22, 1966. Pinkley 395A. Ecuapor: Rio Aguarico, Dureno. December 27, 1965. Pinkley 30. Calliandra angustifolia is cultivated purely as an ornamental by the Kofans who, according to the collector, call the plant sinsin-no’ and poi-fa-ko’. Calliandra vaupesiana Cowan in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 18 (1958) 142, t.xxix, d-f. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kubiya, Sabana con arenisca de Guaranjuda. Alt. c. 350-400 m. June 30, 1958. Garcta-Barriga, Schultes et Blohm 16045. This collection represents the fifth, all from the quartzitic savannahs of the Colombian Vaupés. The species appears to be an endemic with no close relatives. Cassia spinescens Hoffmannsegg ex Vogel. Syn. Cass. (1837) 27. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Conejo and vicinity. April 2-5, 1942. Schultes 3649. Amongst the Kofan Indians, the powdered leaves are con- sidered to be an excellent repellant of body lice. Chamaesenna reticulata (Willd.) Pittier in Trab. Mus. Com. Venez. 3 (1928) 160. CoLomBia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Karaparana, El Encanto. May 22-28, 1942. Schultes 3807. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Miti. March 8, 1944. Gutiérrez et Schultes 950.—Same locality. Schultes et Cabrera 1397]. The Tukano Indians of the Rio Vaupés call this bush o-ree’. It is cultivated for its use as an insect repellant. The powdered leaves are spread in hammocks and clothing. Among the Witotos of the Rio Karaparana, the root has febrifugal properties when prepared in a tea with the root of a species of Chelonanthus. 348 Elizabetha princeps Schomburgk ex Bentham in Hooker, Journ. Bot. 2 (1840) 92. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Cauaburi, Maturaca. July 5-August 12, 1967. Schultes 24578. The bark of this beautiful 40-foot tree, which the Waika Indians call a-ma’, is burned for ashes to mix with epena-snuff prepared from the red “resin” of Virola theiodora (Spr. ex Benth.) Warburg (Schultes et Holmstedt: Rhodora 70 (1968) 113-160. The bark and petioles are alkaloid-negative with a Dragen- dorff reagent spot test. Eperua leucantha Bentham in Martius, Fl. Bras. 15, pt. 2 (1870) 225. CoLomsia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kuduyari. October 16, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17872. In the Vaupés, this tree is known as copaiba-rana, yauacano or yebaro. The beautiful rose-purple flowers are sometimes made into a tea for bathing the hair in the belief that it “strengthens the growth of the hair.” The bark is prepared in the form of a strong tea taken to cause vomiting. The Puinaves call this small, white-flowered tree 16-ee: the Kubeo, 0-k6’-gee. Eperua oleifera Ducke var. campestris Ducke in Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, ser. 2, 4 (1932) 728. BRAZIL: Estado do Amazonas, Rio Negro, Manos. September 1948. Schultes et Lopez 10337. In the region of Manaos, a brownish oil extracted from the bark is valued in sealing cracks or splits in dugout canoes. The oil is very aromatic but has a rather disagreeable odour; it is employed medicinally in rubbing on painful or rheumatic joints. The local name is copaiba-rana. 349 Eperua purpurea Bentham in Martius, Fl. Bras. 15, pt. 2 (1870) 226. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Guainia, Canto del Caribe. “Enormous tree. Flowers purple. Local name: yebero.” November 2, 1952. Schultes, Baker et Cabrera 18268.—Rio Negro, San Felipe and vicinity, October 24, 1952. Schultes, Baker et Cabrera 17955.—Rio Vaupes, between Mitt and Javarete. Cerro de Tipiaca. “Columnar tree. Diameter 18 inches. Height 75 feet. At base of mountain.” May 14-15, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19324. The Desano name for Eperua purpurea is boo-roo-go’; the Guanano, boo-too-ke’. These Indians use it in the same way as Eperua leucantha: to encourage thick growth of the hair. Peltogyne catingae Ducke in Trop. Woods. no. 31 (1932) 13. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Negro, Piedra del Cocui. “Bushy tree, 20 feet tall.” December 27, 1947. Schultes et Lopez 9517. This rare species is new to the flora of Colombia. Peltogyne parvifolia Spruce ex Bentham in Martius, Fl. Bras. 15, pt. 2 (1870) 233. CoLomsiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. “Enormous tree.” January 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 19853. This species can now be reported for the flora of Colombia. Tachigalia cavipes (Spr. ex Benth.) Macbride in Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Bot. Ser. 13, pt. 3 (1943) 127. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Miritiparana, Calo Guacaya. May 8, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16463. Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Vaupes, Mitu, November 12, 1939. Pérez- Arbelaez et Cuatrecasas 6738.—Rio Apaporis, Raudal Jerijerimo. July 8, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12981.—Same locality. August 22, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16997.— Rio Kananani, Cerro Isibukuri, September 29, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14690.—Same locality. November 29-30, 1951. Garcia- Barriga 13779.—Rio Piraparana, middle course. Schultes et Cabrera 17137.—Rio Vaupeés, near Mitu. November 13, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 18409.— Rio Apaporis, Raudal Yayacopi. August 18, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16963. Rio Kubiyu, savannah Goo-ran-hoo-da. June 30, 1958. Garcia- Barriga, Schultes et Blohm 16061. This common and relatively widespread species has one important use: the leaves, which are inhabited with fierce ants, 350 are gathered and reduced to ashes. The ashes are reputedly the best type for mixing with clay used in pottery and ceramics. The product must be excellent to make it worthwhile braving the ferocity of the ants! The Puinave name of this bushy treelet is main or mitin-wan- she-pe-ne: the latter name means “méain for pottery.” The Yukuna call the plant ka-roo-w6’ and the Makuna hoo-be’-gee. Tachigalia myrmecophila Ducke in Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio Jan. 3 (1922) 91. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Negro, Cafio Ducuruapo. “Large tree along river bank. Flowers yellow. December 13-17, 1947. Schultes et Lopez 9389.— Rio Kananari. “Tree. Flowers yellow, very fragrant.” August 6, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13421. The ashes of this plant are mixed with clay to strengthen pottery. Tachigalia paniculata Aub/et var. comosa Dwyer in Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 41 (1954) 240, t. 10, fig. 9. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyocu. September 1946. Schultes et Garcia- Barriga 8360.—Same locality. September 1946. Schultes 8266. Comisaria del Vaupeés, Rio Apaporis, Jinogoje. September 3-11, 1952. Garcia- Barriga 14418.—Rio Vaupes, Cachivera de Tatu. “Large tree, 35-40 feet tall. Flowers pink. September 27—October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24389. This species is alkaloid negative with a Dragendorff reagent spot test in the field. The leaves formerly were burned for mixing with powdered coca (Erythroxylon Coca Lam. var. Ipadu Plowman) leaves. Tachigalia ptychophysca Spruce ex Bentham in Martius, FI. Bras. 15, pt. 2 (1870) 299. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Raudal Jerijerimo. “Tree 12 m. tall. Petals yellow, stamens white.” July 7, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12955.—Same locality. “Tree 60 feet tall. Flowers yellow. August 7, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13488.— Mouth of Rio Pacoa. July 18, 1951, Schultes et Cabrera 13082. 351 A vigourous rubbing of the crushed leaves of Tachigalia ptychophysca is believed by the Taiwano Indians to be alleviative for the stings of the fierce ants inhabiting this species. Tachigalia Schultesiana Dwyer in Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 18 (1858) 152. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Raudal de Jerijerimo. “Large tree. Flowers yellow.” September 16, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14045. A decoction of the flowers of Tachigalia Schultesiana is considered by the Taiwanos to be a cure for tuberculosis when it is gargled hot daily for several weeks. Only the flowers are used. LINACEAE Roucheria calophylla Planchon in Hooker, Lond. Journ. BOt. 6 (1847) 141. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. Alt. c. 900 feet. “Flowers yellow. Small tree.” January 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 19862. The Taiwano Indians use the bark of this tree in decoction as a favourite “cure” for malaria. MALPIGHIACEAE Diacidia glaphimioides Grisebach in Mart., Fl. Bras. 12, pt. | (1858) 120. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kuduyari, Cerro Yapoboda. “Low bush, 1-2 feet tall. Flowers yellow.” October 5-6, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 14355.—Rio Karuru, Mesa de Yambi, Savannah Goo-ran-hoo-da’. April 15-16, 1953. Schultes et Cabrera 19170.—Rio Vaupés, Mitt and vicinity. Cerro de Mitu. “Vine. Flowers with petals bright yellow, stamens and base of petals salmon-red.” May 28, 1976. Zarucchi 1674. The Kubeos of the upper Rio Kuduyari value the flowers of this vine for preparing a cataplasm for an illness that causes swollen glands of the neck. The vine bears flowers most of the year. 352 Diplopteris involuta (7urcz.) Niedenzu in Pflanzenr., Heft 91, 4, 1 Fam. 141, pt. 1 (1928) 226. Peru: Departmento de Huanuco, Provincia de Pachitea. Bosque Nacional de Iparia. Alt. 300-400 m. “Liana de 15-17 m. Flores amarillas con sepalos de color pardo oscuro, Frutos immaturos. September 26, 1967. Schunke V. 2179. According to the collector, the local vernacular name of this liana is ayahuasca negro. There is no evidence—except the possible nomenclatural intimation—that this species enters into the narcotic preparation known in Peru as ayahuasca. It is possible, however, that this species has, like Diplopteris Cabrerana (Cuatr.) Gates, trypta- mine constituents (Schultes et Hofmann: The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens [Ed. 2] (1980) 175). SAPINDACEAE Paullinia rugosa Bentham ex Radlkofer, Monogr. Serjan. (1875) 7, CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kuduyari, Savannah Yapoboda. Alt. c. 300 m. “Bejuco. Fruto rojo-sangre; arilo blanco. Semilla negra.” June 23-25, 1958. Garcta- Barriga, Schultes et Blohm 16019. The Kubeo Indians of the Mitt region consider that the leaves of Paullinia rugosa have emetic properties. STERCULIACEAE Guazuma ulmifolia Lamarck, Encycl. 3 (1789) 52. CoLomBia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Caqueta, La Pedrera. May 2, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16370. A gum from the fruit is valued in La Pedrera in the treatment of sore throat and bronchial infections. Sterculia apetala (Jacq.) Karsten, Fl. Columb. 2 (1862) 35, t. 118. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyaco. Alt. c. 100 m. September 1946. Schultes et Black 8386. Ww Nn w Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Santa Rosa and vicinity. Very tall tree. Flowers yellow-white. April 7-8, 1942. Schultes 3641. The Kofan Indians report that they formerly prepared an oil from the seeds which was employed in treating skin eruptions. Sterculia pruriens (Aub/.) K. Schumann in Martius, Fl. Bras. 12, pt. 2 (1886) 8. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, between Rios Pacoa and Kananari. “Large tree. Flowers yellowish red. Highland.” September 15, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13987. The Takanos, who call this tree ko-ree, maintain that the oil extracted from the seeds has several medicinal uses, especially for treating “sarna” (mange). FLACOURTIACEAE Euceraea nitida Martius, Nov. Gen. et Sp. 3 (1829) 90, t. 238. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kananari, summit of Cerro Isibukuri. January 23-25, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15035; 15039. The leaves of Euceraea nitida are reputedly poulticed on boils and other skin infections to soften the skin and_ hasten suppuration. Laetia procera (P. et E.) Eichler in Martius, Fl. Bras. 13, pt. 1 (1871) 453. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Jinogojé. “Scandent bush. Fruit pink, fleshy.” August 2, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17018. The Maku Indians, who call this bush yaw’-tee, employ the fragrant flowers crushed and mixed with oil for the treatment of “sarna”, a mange-like cutaneous itch. The mixture is applied several times a day to the affected area. Ryania angustifolia (Turcz.) Monachino in Lloydia 12 (1949) Zi. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Vaupes, La Jirisa. January 9, 1944. Gutiérrez et Schultes 560.— Rio Apaporis, Raudal Yayacopi. February 18, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15491. 354 The Kubeos call this plant cruheric and state that it was formerly employed for its high toxicity for killing animals. Ryania pyrifera (L. C. Rich.) Uitten et Sleumer in Pulle, Fl. Surinam 3 (1935) 286. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, forest between Rios Vaupés and Apaporis, from Puerto Naré to Puerto Victoria. April 10-17, 1943. Schultes 5360. This species is reported to have been employed in former times on the Rio Vaupes to poison animals. Tetrathylacium macrophyllum Poeppig et Endlicher, Nov. Gen. et Sp. 3 (1843) 34, t. 240. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, path between Puerto Ospina and Concepcion. “Bush, 8 feet.” April 20-23, 1942. Schultes 3673. This plant is locally regarded as having poisonous fruits. THYMELAEACEAE Schoenobiblus peruvianus Standley in Field Mus. Publ. Bot. 11 (1936) 169. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretovacu. October 1946. Schultes et Garcta- Barriga 8418. This species is one of the preferred curare plants amongst the Kofan Indians of the Colombian Putumayo and adjacent Ecuador (Schultes: Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 13 (1949) 289). The Tikunas of the Rio Loretoyacu recognize the bark of the stem and root as toxic but have no knowledge of its use in preparing curare. The Tikunas have long had great fame as curare-makers. Their curare was made basically from Strychnos and species of several menispermaceous genera. Krukoff, who investigated Tikuna arrow poisons in great depth, failed also to list Schoenobiblus peruvianus as one of the ingredients of Tikuna curare (Krukoff and Smith: Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 64 (1937) 401-409.). 355 LECYTHIDACEAE Asteranthos brasiliensis Desfontaines in Mem. Mus. Paris 6 (1820) 9, t. 3. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Guainia, Puerto Colombia. “Bush. Flowers yellow. Bracts green.” October 31-November 2, 1952. Schultes, Baker et Cabrera 18214. The bark of the stem and root of this bush are employed in the form of a decoction as a strong purgative amongst the Kuri- pakos of the Rio Guainia. Chytroma gigantea (Kunth) Kunth in Pflanzenr. Heft 105, 4. Fam. 219a (1935) 85. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. October 1946. Schultes et Black 8558. The Tikuna Indians add the dried flowers in the form of a powder to fermented chicha prepared from Manihot esculenta Crantz. Chytroma turbinata (Berg) Miers in Trans. Linn. Soc. 30 (1874) 234. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. September 1946. Schultes et Black 8280. The flowers of Chytroma turbinata are dried, powdered and mixed with chicha, a fermented Manihot drink amongst the Tikuna Indians; the purpose of this use of the flowers is unknown. Chytroma valida Miers in Trans. Linn. Soc. 30 (1874) 241. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Mitt, base of Cerro Mitu. “Flowers yellow- cream, fragrant.” September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24250. The leaves and bark of this tree are alkaloid-negative with a Dragendorff reagent spot test. 356 Eschweilera inaequisepala Cuatrecasas in F ieldiana, Bot. 27, no. 2 (1951) 87. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Mitt. September 27-October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf et Soejarto 24186. A Dragendorff spot test for alkaloids on the fresh leaves and bark was negative. Eschweilera iquitoensis Kunth in Engler, Pflanzenr., Lecy- thidac. 97 (1939) 111. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Piraparana. August 24, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17010.—Rio Kukuyari. August 12, 1960. Schultes et Cabrera 22585. The Makuna Indians living on the Rio Piraparana burn the bark and mix very small amounts of the ashes in their mingau (flour of Manihot esculenta with water) in the belief that the ashes act as a vermifuge. Eschweilera sp. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Miritiparana, Cafio Guacaya. “Small tree. Flowers yellowish or pinkish, fragrant.” April 24, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16284. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kuduyari. “Small tree. Flowers white basally, pink at tips.” October 16, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17874. The Kubeo call this tree doo’-ko: amongst the Yukunas of the Rio Miritiparana, the plant is known as tee-ree’-ma-ree. Grias Neuberthii Macbride in Field Mus. Publ. Bot. 1] (1931) 30. CoLomsia: Departamento del Cauca, Rio Caqueta, Puerto Limon. February 28-29, 1942. Schultes 3312. Comisaria del Putumayo, Uchupayacu. February 22-23, 1942. Schultes 3292.—Rio Sucumbios, Quebrada Conejo. April 2-5, 1942. Schultes 3479. Ecuapor: Provincia Pastaza, Rio Chico village. August 1979. Schemluck et Ness 184. The vernacular name of this tree in the Putumayo is kokora. Amongst the Kofan Indians, it is called te-te-koo’-choo. The RW rind of the fruit is edible when ripe. The twigs are added to the mixture when curare is being prepared from Strychnos Jo- bertiana Baill. The cambium is used by the Indians of Rio Chica “to induce vomiting in malarial cure.” It is also “given at childbirth to induce vomiting thereby reducing nausea and improving appe- tite.” The seed is employed as an enema for treating dysentary. The common name of this species in Ecuador is pitun-ruya. Gustavia calycaris (Berg) Miers in Trans. Linn. Soc. 30 (1874) 185. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. “Small tree in inundated area along river’s edge. Flowers pink.” March 1946. Schultes 7216.—Same locality. January 28-February 7, 1969. Plowman, Lockwood, Kennedy et Schultes 2432. The local name of this tree is matamata. In the Rio Loretoyacu, the bitter root is considered to be purgative; a tea of the fruits is emetic. Gustavia longifolia Poeppig ex Berg in Martius, Fl. Bras. 14, pt. 1 (1848) 472. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Umbria. December 1930. Klug 1980. The vernacular name of this species is kokora. The Siona Indians of the Putumayo point this tree out as one of the ingredients formerly employed (the bark) in their preparation of curare, COMBRETACEAE Combretum laxum Jacquin, Enum. Pl. Carib. (1760) 19. CoLomBiaA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Igaraparana, La Chorrera. June 4-10, 1942. Schultes 3924.—Rio Putumayo, Florida. May-July 1931. G. Klug 2337. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. July 18, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13079.—Same locality. August 16, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13588. Same locality. “Vine. Flowers white, very fragrant of narcissus.” September 15, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13979. Same locality. January 28, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 14992. 358 The very fragrant flowers of this vine are valued as personal adornments by the Indians. Native names for this plant in the Vaupés are: Puinave, der’- gaw; Kuripako, tee’-ye-pee; Tukano, o-ree’; Barasana, beh’-ma; and Kubeo, ne-he-ve-mon’. The Witotos of La Chorrera call the plant ajuo-wo or aioho-ayo-o. Combretum rotundifolium Richard in Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris 1 (1792) 108. CoLomsiA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Igaraparana, between Quebrada Menaje and Rio Putumayo. June 15-17, 1942. Schultes 3984.—Rio Ama- zonas, Leticia. September-November, 1944. Schultes 6196a. Comisaria del Vaupes, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. June 26, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12839. The Tukano Indians of the Rio Apaporis call this vine o-ree’- ma-ka. LOGANIACEAE Strychnos brachiata Ruiz et Pavon, Fl. Peru. et Chil. 2 (1799) 30. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Santa Rosa. “Vine.” April 7-8, 1942. Schultes 3602. The Kofan Indians, who know this vine as se’-he-pa (“poison”), use the root as one of their major curare sources. Strychnos cogens Bentham in Hooker, Journ. Bot. 3 (1841) 241. CoLomsia: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. October 1946. Schultes et Black 8525. Strychnos cogens was one of the major species employed in the preparation of curare by the Tikuna Indians. The Tikuna name is iko. Strychnos Erichsonii Rich. Schomburkg, Fauna FI. Br. Guian. (1848) nomen; ex Pragel in Martius, FI. Bras. 6, pt. 1 (1868) 274. CoLomsBiA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Conejo. April 2-5, 1942. Schultes 3524. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama, June 18, 359 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12644.—Rio Popeyaca. “Vine. Fruit orange.” February 25, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 15653.— Rio Apaporis, Jinogojé. June 20, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16770.—Same locality. August 17, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 16882.—Same locality. August 25, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 17021. August 22-24, 1952. Garcia- Barriga 14580. This widespread species was first reported from Colombia in 1949 (Schultes, Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 13 (1949) 290). Since that report, many collections have been made in Colom- bia, indicating that it is one of the commonest species of Strychnos in the northwest Amazonia. It is regarded by all Indians who still manufacture curare in the area as the most potent species. The Maku Indians of the Rio Piraparana in Colombia, who make the most prized curare, know the vine as koo-ee-et’. The Makuna call it wa-oo-nee’-ma-ma. The Kofan name is ir-ro’- chee; the Desano lee-ma-na-joo’; the Karijona, e-re-qui’. Strychnos guianensis (Aub/.) Martius, Syst. Mart. Med. Bras. (1843) 121. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, upper Rio Putumayo, Schultes 3421. Rio Sucumbios. April 1942. Schultes 3688.— Rio Putumayo, Nueva Granada. “La corteza de la raiz tiene resina rojiza que se utiliza para veneno de flechas.” July 30, 1957. Idrobo 2633. The Siona Indians, who call this vine ya-hi-ae-o, employ the bark of the root for preparing curare. The root bark is a minor component of one of the curares prepared by the Kofans who know the plant as ku-see-ye'-he-pa. Strychnos javariensis Krukoff in Brittonia 4 (1942) 279. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Putumayo, Puerto Ospina. “Vine. Root used in preparing arrow poison by Kofanes.” April 25, 1942. Schultes 3690.—Same locality and date. Schultes 3691. Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. October 1946. Schultes et Black 840]. The Tikuna Indians chew the bark of Strychnos javariensis to relieve toothache. This species represents one of the ingredients of lesser potency in Kofan curares. 360 Strychnos Jobertiana Baillon in Adansonia 12 (1879) 367. CoLomsiA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Conejo. “Bark of root used for curare.” April 2-5, 1942. Schultes 3523.—San Antonio de Guaumués. “Bark rasped and boiled for curare.” September 6, 1966. Pinkley 43].—Same locality. September 6, 1966. Pinkley 432. Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. November 1946. Black et Schultes 46-262. First reported from the Colombian flora in 1949 (Schultes, loc. cit., 290), it is now known to be widespread in the northwest Amazonia, where the root is one of the preferred sources of curare. The Kofan names of this species are u-su-se-e’-pa, ee-ru-chee- se’-he-pa, kitsi-pa-cho-se’-he-pa and fee-see-pa’-chu. Strychnos Mitscherlichii Schomburkg, Faun. Fl. Brit. Gian. (1848) 950. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Putumayo, Nueva Granada. “Se raspa, se separa la corteza, se reune con otros varios bejucos y se cocina en largo proceso para preparar el veneno. Mata todo animal, pero no asienta en la preparacion. July 29, 1957. Idrobo 2628; 2632. Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. September 1946. Schultes et Black 8388. The Sionas of the Putumayo have two names for this vine: pux-se-o (“cayman poison”) and que-he-ae-o (“vine rough to the touch”). The bark is one of the ingredients of their curare. Strychnos panurensis Sprague et Sandwith in Kew Bull. 1927. (1927) 132. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Soratama. June 26, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12840;— Near mouth of Rio Pacoa. July 18, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13084. Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. September 1946. Schultes et Black 8388. Widespread in the northwest Amazon, Strychnos panurensis is valued by numerous tribes as an ingredient in curare. 361 Strychnos Peckii L. B. Robinson in Proc. Am. Acad. 49 (1913) 504. CoLomsiA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Santa Rosa. April 7-8, 1942. Schultes 3601. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Negro, vicinity of Piedra del Cucuy. December 27, 1947. Schultes et Lopez 9491.—Rio Apaporis, near mouth of Rio Kananari. March, 1951. Schultes 12100. The Kofan Indians prepare curare from the root of this species. They refer to it simply as se’-he-pa (“poison”). This species is apparently the principal ingredient of the curare prepared by the Karaparanas of the Rio Kananari. Strychnos rondeletioides Spruce ex Bentham in Journ. Linn. Soc. | (1856) 104. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Karaparana, El] Encanto. “Bush. Fruit blue-black or orange-red.” May 22-28, 1942. Schultes 3829. Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Vaupés, Mitt and vicinity. September 27- October 20, 1966. Schultes, Raffauf and Soejarto 24187; 24248; 24258.—Same locality. November 13, 1952. Schultes et Cabrera 18408; 18416; 18423. This widespread species in Amazonian Brazil, Bolivia and Peru and in Venezuela is now known to be an abundant element of the riverine vegetation of southeastern Colombia. Strychnos Solererderi Gi/g in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 25, Beibl. 60 (1898) 40. CoLoms1A: Comisaria del Amazonas, Leticia. September 7, 1963. Soejarto 595.—Rio Caquetaé, La Pedrera, Cerro Cupati. September 30, 1952. Garcia- Barriga 14522. The Yukuna Indians of the Rio Miritiparana near La Pedrera know this species as a-pa-can’-juin. Strychnos subcordata Spruce ex Bentham in Journ. Linn. Soc. | (1856) 106. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Putumayo, Puerto Ospina. “Vine.” April 25, 1942. Schultes 3687. First reported from Colombia in 1949. (Schultes, loc. cit. 43), this species is widespread and rather common near abandoned 362 sites in the western Amazon of Brazil. Schultes 3687 established its range to the foothills of the Andes. The Kofan Indians employ the root in one of their arrow- poison formulas. They know the vine as su-se’-pa. RUBIACEAE Calycophyllum obovatum (Ducke) Ducke in Trop. Woods no. 49 (1937) 2. CoLomBiA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Cachivera de Jerijerimo and vicinity. Alt. c. 250 m. “Bush.” June 13, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12474. An emetic drink is prepared from the leaves of Calycophyllum obovatum by the Indians residing in the middle course of the Rio Apaporis. It is taken when the frequent food poisoning from eating tainted meat or fish is experienced. Calycophyllum Spruceanum (Bth.) K. Schumann in Martius, Fl. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 191. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Rio Loretoyacu. Alt. c. 100 m. November 1944. Schultes 6332.—Puerto Narifio, Rio Loretoyaca. February 14, 1973. Glenboski C-276-A. This tree, locally known as capirona and palo mulato, 1s employed by the Tikuna Indians as a source of rafters for their houses. The bark is said to be very astringent and is employed in decoction for treating sore throat. Cephaelis Humboldtiana Chamisso ex Schlechtendal in Linnaea 4 (1829) 136. Cotomsia: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Apaporis, Cachivera de Jerijerimo and vicinity. Alt. c. 250 m. “Bracts red-purple. Bush 2-2! feet tall.” June 10, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 12499. Comisaria del Amazonas. Interior region of Trapecio Amazonico between Amazon and Putumayo watershed. Alt. c. 100 m. “Bush. Bracts red. Flowers white.” October 1945. Schultes 6894. In the Rio Apaporis, the Karapana Indians prepare a decoction of the leaves of Cephaelis Humboldtiana for treating malarial fevers. 363 Cephaelis Williamsii Stand/ey in Field. Mus. Publ. Bot. 8 (1930) 185. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Uchupayaco, Uchupayacu, between Urcusique and Umbria. Alt. c. 300 m. “Large bush. Fruit green.” February 23, 1942. Schultes 3298. The Siona Indians point out this plant as a source of a febrifugal tea. Duroia hirsuta (P. et EF.) K. Schumann in Martius, FI. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 367. COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Putumayo, Rio Sucumbios, Conejo. Alt. 300 m. April 5, 1942. Schultes 3536. The bark of this small tree is caustic. A band of the bark is tied around the arm and kept for several days. After it is removed, the skin develops a red irritation and blisters, as if the skin had been burnt. The irritated area then turns blue-black, leaving the mark which persists for a month or longer (Schultes: Bot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard Univ. 22 (1969) 152; Schultes in /] Simposio de la Biologia Tropical Amazonica (1970) 194-195.) This cosmetic use of the bark is frequent in a number of Indian tribes in the Putumayo, but it is an especially common practice amongst the Kofan where one finds hardly a man who does not have the blue-black decoration on one or both arms. The Kofan call Duroia hirsuta sha-ka-ker’-na-se. The name in Spanish is soliman. Isertia hypoleuca Bentham in Hooker, Journ. bot. 3 (1841) 220. CoLomBIA: Comisaria del Amazonas, Leticia. September 20, 1945. Schultes 6540.—Same locality. September 7, 1963. Soejarto 574.—Same locality. August 1964. Raffauf 110. In the Leticia area, the inhabitants powder the leaves of this common weedy treelet to apply to sores of the lip which appear to be herpes. An infusion of the leaves is said to have anti- asthmatic properties but in high doses may be poisonous. 364 Isertia rosea Spruce ex K. Schumann in Martius, Fl. Bras. 6, pt. 6 (1889) 284. CoLoMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Kananari, Cachivera Palito. July 25, 1951. Schultes et Cabrera 13148. The Indians of the Rio Kananari take a warm tea of the leaves for treating bronchial conditions. 365 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS VoL. 29, No. 4 Fall 1983 SACRED PLANTS OF THE SAN PEDRO CULT E. WADE Davis The high northern Andean valley of Huancabamba, Peru, is the centre of an extraordinary moon-oriented magico-religious healing cult, a fundamental feature of which is the nocturnal ingestion by patients and curandero of the mescaline-rich San Pedro cactus (Trichocereous Pachanoi Britton et Rose). Such is the notariety of the curanderos, or maestros, of Huancabamba that patients regularly arrive not only from the Peruvian coastal cities and the scattered settlements of the Marofion river drainage area to the east, but from as far away as Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. The healing process at Huancabamba involves two equally important phases. During the first, the maestro, under the influence of the San Pedro, divines the cause of the patient’s predicament and prescribes a cure. The adherents of the cult believe that all of life’s vicissitudes result from supernatural causes; hence commonly tréated problems include both psycho- logical and physiological disorders as well as chronic bad luck, marital troubles, sorcery and malevolent curses (Sharon 1978). The second phase of the curative process includes the treatment of the particular problem by means of folk remedies prepared from medicinal plants, the most efficaceous of which are said to grow in the environs of a number of sacred lakes known as Las Huaringas. Especially problematic cases are led by the maestro on pilgrimages to these lakes, located a hard day’s walk above Huancabamba at an elevation of approximately 10,500 feet. In completing the pilgrimage and in bathing in the sacred waters, the penitent believes that he or she undergoes a metamorphosis, a spiritual regeneration that is profoundly curative (Schultes and Hofmann 1979, Sharon 1972, 1978). 367 The dynamics of the Huancabamba cult have been discussed in some detail by a number of authors (Schultes and Hofmann 1979, 1980, Dobkin de Rios 1968, 1969, Sharon 1972, 1978, Friedberg 1959, 1960, 1963, 1980). The purpose of this paper is to introduce a number of novel ethnobotanical observations which I was able to make during my fieldwork in the region in 1981, including the discovery of a cactus previously unreported as an hallucinogen and a folk legend that offers evidence of the continuity of indigenous religious beliefs in the otherwise thoroughly “mestizada” culture of contemporary Huancabamba. For comparative purposes an account of the nocturnal curing ritual is presented. Of the antiquity of the use of the San Pedro cactus in northern Peru there can be no doubt. Engraved stone carvings at Chavin dating to 1300 B.C. feature an anthropomorphic figure clutching a section of the cactus (Schultes and Hofmann 1979), Repre- sentations of the cactus show up on Chavin textiles, Nazca ceramic urns and Moche and Chimt ceramics (Schultes and Hofmann 1979, Friedberg 1963, Sharon 1978) and Towle (1961) has suggested that cacti were probably under domestication on the coast of Peru as early as the Early Intermediate (200 BC-600 AD). A far greater challenge has been to establish continuity between the pre-Columbian use of this cactus and the present day cults. Historically, contact between western societies and indigenous societies in the New World stimulated novel adapta- tions as the indigenous societies were forced to adapt themselves to phenomena outside the range of their traditional experiences. Messianic movements in North America are one well known adaptation of this nature, but one closer to the Huancabamba example is found in the intensification of shamanistic activity among South American groups under the pressure of contact and acculturation (Harner 1973, Hudelson 1981). In the early postcontact era, the indigenous population of the entire north coast of Peru, including the adjacent regions of the Andean cordillera, was utterly devastated (Rowe 1948); and, as late as the mid-18th century, much of the region remained depopulated (Von Hagen 1964). Under such pressures, the indigenous 368 religious practices, including the utilization of Trichocereus Pachanoi, undoubtedly were thoroughly transformed. Today, in marked contrast to the indigenous Quechua populations of the southern Peruvian Andes, the rural popula- tion of the Huancabamba and surrounding valleys is totally mestizo. No indigenous languages, textiles, forms of social organization or agricultural practices remain. True, remnants of aboriginal religious beliefs and practices have persisted, yet over the centuries they have been so fully influenced by Christianity that, in the syncretic result, it is often difficult to distinguish one tradition from the other (Sharon 1978). In fact, so rich is the overlay of Roman Catholic symbolism on the contemporary cults that early observors concluded that they represented a strictly post-contact, colonial phenomenon. Ethnohistorical evidence, while indicating that without doubt Trichocereus Pachanoi was used in some regions of 17th and [8th century Peru (Oliva 1895, Cobo 1956), is insufficient to allow the initial transformations of the indigenous religions and the subsequent evolution of the contemporary cults to be precisely character- ised. In the absence of complete ethnohistorical data, evidence of the continuity of indigenous beliefs must be sought in a synchronic study of the symbolism of the cult as it exists today. In this regard, it is pertinent to repeat at some length a remarkable folk belief that I encountered near Huancabamba. Whilst walking from Huancabamba to Las Huaringas, | noticed a particularly large stand of Trichocereous Pachanoi (voucher, herbarium specimen, Davis 760) growing at the Caseria Laumache, approximately three miles from Huanca- bamba. As I approached the stand, I was astonished to discover that a single clone covered perhaps one quarter of an acre; individual shoots towered to 45 feet, and some fallen sections measured 14!4 inches in diameter. In order to collect specimens, I borrowed a machete from a nearby campesino who then followed me anxiously towards the San Pedro. As I entered the stand, he most emphatically urged me to hurry; when I attempted to pass him my cut specimens, he eased towards the edge of the stand with the utmost caution. Then, as he gazed over my shoulder, he suddenly yelled and flung himself face first 369 to the ground. Somewhat unnerved by his behavior, I hastened to complete my collections. Later, upon reflection, | was most curious as to why such a stand, growing a mere five minutes from the principle trail to Las Huaringas, had not been harvested. At that time San Pedro sold in the coastal markets for 500 soles (about $1.00 US then) a one-foot section of about eight inch girth. As a result, virtually all escaped populations of the San Pedro cactus in the valley had been harvested. Yet here was a single unmolested stand of literally tons of the cactus. When I questioned my main informant, a particularly esteemed maestro, don Pancho Guar- nizo!, he gravely asked me how far into the stand I had ventured. When I replied that I had merely made some collections on the periphery, he sighed in relief and mentioned that in that case I would not die but merely break out with a horrible pestilence. That special clone of San Pedro, he warned me, is protected by an enormous serpent living at the centre of the stand. The snake does not bite intruders but rather, as a spirit guardian of the plant, causes repugnant diseases to break out—a plague “like measles that causes small bumps all over the body.” The cactus itself was reputedly the strongest in the valley, but no maestro dared to use it. Hence the stand is never disturbed. The pestilence referred to in the legend quite possibly is the dreaded verruga, or Clarion’s disease, an affliction known only from Peru, where it is localised in certain valleys of the western slope of the first range of the cordillera, including that of Huancabamba. It is caused by a recently identified bacillus (Bartonnella bacilliformis) which causes a temporary eruption 'My principle informant at Huancabamba was don Pancho Guarnizo, a highly regarded maestro and a proud member of the Asociacion de Naturalistas Evangélicas del Peru. The Guarnizo family emigrated to Peru from Ecuador some 150 years ago, and for several generations has been closely associated with the cult. Don Pancho was apprentised to his grandfather, a well known maestro from Las Huaringas, and in turn has passed his remarkable knowledge on to a number of individuals now practising as maestros in the Huancabamba area. Only recently did don Pancho himself move from Las Huaringas to the outskirts of Huancabamba and the family retains a house at Taleneo, near the Laguna Negra, whence one of the sons directs the ceremonies at the sacred lakes. A second son, Jose, is a noted herbalist who has compiled a list of over 3000 medicinal plants which he is attempting to print in the coastal city of Piura. José is the “pharmacist” to whom don Pancho refers his patients for herbal treatments. 370 of wart-like excrescences, mainly on the face but often covering much of the body. Pizarro’s men, it will be remembered, suffered a severe case of the disease while exploring the flanks of the sierra east of Tumbes: “They thought at first that these were warts, because at the beginning they looked like warts. But as time passed, they grew larger and began to ripen like figs, of which they had both the size and shape: they hung and swung froma stem, secreted blood and body fluids, and nothing was more frightful to see or more painful, because they were very sensitive to touch. The wretched men afflicted with this disease were horrible to look at. as they were covered with these purple-blue fruits hanging from their foreheads, their eyebrows, their nostrils, their beards and even from their ears; nor did they know how to treat them. Indeed some died of then while others survived. Then it suddenly disappeared the way it had come, as do bad attacks of the grippe.” (de la Vega 1961: 375) Perhaps coincidentally, two weeks after leaving Huancabamba, I suffered a dermatological disorder that covered my entire face and neck with blemishes; undiagnosed the attack disappeared after a fortnight. This folk legend recounted by Pancho Guarnizo contains a number of symbolic elements typical of traditional South American shamanism, including: |) the belief in spirit guardians; 2) the notion of particular geographical localities animistically endowed with supernatural power—the image of the serpent; 3) the concept of physical combat against disease demons or spirits; 4) the close association of certain magical plants with spiritual power and the idea that different individual popula- tions of the same botanical species may be endowed with greater or lesser amounts of power; and finally 5) the belief in spiritual or supernatural forces as the causal agents of illness. The legend, in fact, exemplifies a fundamental feature of the contemporary San Pedro healing cult. Despite the overlay of Catholic symbolism, the aboriginal roots of the cult are readily apparent in every phase of divinatory and curative ritual. On the night of February 15, 1981, | participated in a San Pedro healing ceremony under the guidance of don Pancho Guarnizo. A long brown muddy track wove past agaves swollen in flower and arrived at an open veranda contiguous with a 371 complex of farm houses. The patients sat passively on rough benches along one wall of the enclosure; at their feet lay the offerings that each must bring for the ceremony: a bottle of alcohol, a bag of white sugar, and one bottle each of agua florida (scented water) and agua cananga (red perfume). Each of the patients had already consulted the maestro and the healing process began at that first encounter; some of the patients had been waiting all day, and this period of inactivity before the ceremony appears to be a deliberate part of the ritual. There is a space specified for the purpose, and the maestro, while providing food, remains aloof and interacts very little with the waiting patients. The patients exemplified the ecletic troubles treated by the maestros. There was a father and a daughter from Mendoza, near Chachapoyas in the Marafion basin. Until recently, the girl had been paralyzed, and though partially treated by a brujo (“witchdoctor”) from Bague, she still suffered severe back and stomach pains and a general psychological depression. Further, a mysterious ailment had reduced the family’s cattle herd from 58 to six head; and, to make things worse, an aunt had recently gone mad. The aunt had been too sick to travel; hence the father presented coins and hex stones in her proxy. Another patient was a business man from the coastal city of Sullana who wanted to discover the identity of the culprit who had embezzled 800,000 soles (US-1500.00 then) from his business. The final patient was insane. Several weeks before, he had discovered his wife in the arms of another man. The forsaken husband had gone for a gun, but the temporary lover was quick of tongue. He had cursed the husband, warning him that a murder would be avenged in heaven, and that, in the meantime, he would face life in a Peruvian jail. According to don Pancho, the words had fallen “like clumps of sod across a hollow coffin”. The husband had collapsed in convulsions, during the course of which he went mad. The maestro appeared shortly after ten. His body was wrapped in a deep blue poncho, and his enormous hat added years to his aspect. All that was visible was his elephantine nose and a chin that resembled the toe of an old boot. Holding a 372 flickering lamp, he announced simply that it was time to begin. Behind the house, on a sheltered porch six colonial swords stuck into the ground marked the outline of the mesa, or ceremonial alter, before which the patients were directed to sit. From several bags, the maestro withdrew the power objects of the mesa. These included wooden staffs of tropical hardwoods (membrillo—Cydonia oblonga Mill., chonta—Bactris gasipaes HBK, ajohaspi—Cordia sp.) whale bones, quartz crystals, colonial knives, plastic toy soldiers, pre-Columbian ceramics and huacas, brass lions and deer, antlers, wild boar tusks, silver plates, murex and helmet shells, dice, statues of the virgin and many photographs, paintings and figurines of the Roman Catholic saints. There was in the placement of these objects the care and the inherent eye for the sacred that characterises the true maestro (Sharon 1978: 159-176). A single item from the offerings of each patient was placed before the alter. The ceremony began with an invocation to Christ and the Virgin: “Long live luck, work, fortune, business: obstacles, problems, here I go stopping, I go dallying, in good times, in bad times, with the grace of God and the most holy Virgin that this tobacco provide my patients with all their solutions, with my good tobacco, and the good mountains and lakes, the good herbs and my good tobacco—leaf for leaf, vein for vein, root for root, shoot for shoot, whether in Piura, in Lima or in Cajamarca where died our King Atahualpa—pieces of gold, bells of silver. Likewise shall ring Out my name, the name of my family, my luck, my work, my fortune and my business with the grace of God and the most Holy virgin.” Following the opening prayer, there must be a pago, a payment, and hence the maestro sprayed alcohol and perfume to the cardinal points and over each of the patients. During the course of the ceremony, each patient’s bottle of perfume would be emptied and returned as a seguro, a sacred protection made up of herbs gathered at Las Huaringas. Following the pago, don Pancho brought out a large bowl in which tobacco leaves were soaking in an alcohol/ perfume solution. He took a bottle of aguardiente and poured the contents over the leaves, and then massaged the leaves with his hands. Next he dipped a scallop 373 shell into the brew and instructed each patient to inhale the liquid through his or her left nostril, a procedure immediately followed for the right nostril. This florecimiento was repeated periodically throughout the night. After inhaling each sample, we were instructed to walk to the open end of the veranda, to shake our bodies vigorously to “release the force”. That end of the open aired temple appeared to represent the interface between the inner and the outer; the shrine as sanctuary and the outer world as the place of darkness and spirits. The next hour was punctuated by numerous invocations and litanies reflecting both Roman Catholic and indigenous origins, which were invariably followed by florecimientos. At one point close to midnight, we were told to rise; and a large cauldron of liquid was brought from the kitchen. A single cup of the San Pedro preparation was passed repeatedly in a clockwise direction, until each patient had drunk three cupfuls. By now, the night was growing, and the temptation to sleep struck all patients. The maestro talked incessantly, beseeching us to refrain from sleeping, and as the San Pedro began to take effect, a dialogue began between each patient and the maestro during which the particular ailments were diagnosed. Each participant was considered individually, with don Pancho pausing to massage or suck on various parts of the patient’s body to extract the supernatural source of the afflictions. The diagnosis was accompanied by ritualistic songs and chants and the rhythmic shaking of the sacred rattle. After the diagnosis, the patients lay down around the mesa, and attempted, sometimes in vain, to heed the maestro’s warning to remain awake’. Just before dawn, the man from Sullana lept to his feet, and rushed with a pair of wooden staffs to the edge of the veranda yelling: “Away evil, away things of the night. We now have the power through the grace of don Pancho Guarnizo and so away things of the night!” A long series of grandiose accusations, boasts and threats followed, which he accentuated with violent thrusts of the staffs. Then, as the man returned to the mesa, each patient orally sprayed aguadiente and perfume across the staffs. 374 A ritualistic purification began at dawn. The maestro rubbed each participant with a series of stones and sticks from the mesa. He massaged the limbs, pulling on each joint of our fingers; then spinning the patient, he hit each one with a switch on the back, and hurried the patient to the end of the veranda, as he yelled an order to shake violently. Then the apprentices took over, rubbing each patient with black round stones, white rocks, crystals of quartz and finally melted glass. There followed another rub down, first with two wooden staffs and then with two colonial swords. Finally, with the aid of the two staffs placed across the chest of the patient, the apprentice swung him or her off the ground, violently shaking the lower part of the body. The swords were placed in the form of a cross on the ground and the patient was led ceremoniously across the threshold that the swords represented. ?The actual intoxicating effect of the San Pedro was minimal. During his first three sessions with San Pedro, at least, it is clear that Sharon himself did not become intoxicated (Sharon 1972: 133-135). In part explaining his own failure to be affected by the psychoactive preparation, he stresses that “much more than the psychoactive cactus itself is at work in learning to ‘see’. To see, to attain vision beyond what we would call the real world requires hard work, lengthy training and most important a very special kind of psychological predisposition combined to cultural conditioning” (Sharon 1972: 117). While acknowledging that, in general, a shaman’s ability to interpret the hallucinogenic vision is a highly evolved skill, I fear that I must consider the rather prosaic matter of dosage. Having self-experimented on a number of occasions with two species of Trichocereus (7. Pachanoi and T. Bridgesii Britton et Rose) and having experienced extremely strong psychoactive intoxications during each experiment, I would argue that I was quite adequately predisposec. to experience mescaline narcosis. Yet during neither of the two sessions in which I participated at Huancabamba did I, my similarly experienced assistant, nor any of the participants become noticeably intoxicated. In fact, a number of experienced students of psychotomimetic drugs have commented informally on their repeated frustration when participating in indigenous rituals involving psychoactive plants (Plowman, Weil, McKenna, Schultes pers. com.). This may be a reflection of psychological and physiological predisposition on the part of the western participants. Luis Luna (1983) has written a fascinating paper suggesting that a particular ritualistically prescribed and rigidly followed diet greatly enhances suscepti- bility to ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis Caapi (Spr ex Griseb) Morton). In the San Pedro cults, however, and perhaps in other cases, it appears to be, at least partially, a rather mundane matter of dosage. The maestro clearly controls access to the spiritual realm in the sense that a Roman Catholic priest is the only conduit through which the believer can partake of what he believes is the body of Christ. The sub-threshold dosages certainly do not realize the complete pharmacological potential of the hallucinogen. Rather, the hallucinogens may have become symbolically analogous to the Eucharist. Perhaps the maestro, himself utterly familiar with the visionary world illuminated by the psychoactive plants, retains a firmer control on the access to that spirit realm than has been commonly assumed. 375 After each patient had been thus treated, all the participants in the ceremony did a number of florecimientos, after which the maestro blew perfume, aguadiente, sugar and facial powder over all of us. After a final benediction, the ceremony ended. Each participant was presented with his seguro, the perfume bottle full of sacred herbs from las Huaringas. Although I afterwards spent several days at Las Huaringas and bathed in the sacred Laguna Negra, | did not participate directly in the second phase of the healing ceremony. Sharon (1978), however, provides the following description: “After the opening invocation, don Florentino approached all the participants and poured a small portion of herbal remedy from his seguro into their palms. This was imbibed through the nostrils by all present... Next don Florentino instructed us to prepare for the bath. Undressing to our underwear, we entered the water, tossng offerings of silver coins and sweet limes sprinkled with sugar into the lagoon. We were next instructed to wade ashore briefly and then return to the lagoon for a quick final dip. As we came out of the water for the second time, the curandero blessed each of us and then instructed us to jump up and down and wave our arms to get warm. Once dried, we were allowed to dress. Once dressed, each of us picked up the amulets and good luck charms we had brought with us and bathed them in the lagoon. Then, one by one, we took a turn before don Florentino for a “cleansing”, or rubbing with his large sword. Then an assistant blew white powder over our chests, and the curer sprayed us orally with liquid from his bottle of magical plants. Then each participant orally sprayed perfume and sweet wine over the lagoon. To end the ceremony, we brought our artifacts before the curandero to be blessed in the name of the lagoon—a process that consisted of invoking the lagoon, calling out our names, and then orally spraying the artifacts with the herbal liquid from the seguro.” (Sharon 1978: 131) While living with don Pancho Guarnizo’s family at Taleneo, near Las Huaringas, | made a number of collections which may partially clarify lingering questions concerning the botanical identification of certain plants associated with the Huanca- bamba cults. Sharon (1972: 122) draws the distinction between the plethora of medicinal plants utilised by the maestro and the magic plants which, although also medicinal, are endowed with particular spirit powers. In the former group would be a 376 number of medicinal plants found commonly throughout the Huancabamba valley. For example, an infusion of the leaves of yatama (Salvia discolor HBK) (Davis 683) is taken internally for stomach indigestion. The leaves and stems of the flor de guayacan (Tecoma stans var. velutina DC) (Davis 683) is drunk to treat tuberculosis. The solanaceous hierba del aire (Lyco- persicon hirsutum Dunal) (Davis 680) provides a general tonic, while the rhizomes of certain ferns known as calaguala (e.g. Niphidium sp.) are employed in infusions for relieving liver ailments. The magic plants, many of which are locally found only around the sacred lagoons, may be employed medicinally, but are also used for the seguros or as additives to the hallucinogenic potions. As medicines, the spirit plants are considered especially powerful. For example, an infusion of the ground leaves of pegapega (Befaria resinosa Mutis ex. L.) (Davis 703) mixed with honey is the strongest recognized treatment for respiratory ailments. A decoction of the entire chagapa morada plant (Gentianella formosissima (D. Don ex G. Don) Fabris ex Pringle) (Davis 75/) in aguadiente is drunk for yellow fever. A similarly prepared decoction of chagapa roja (Gentianella sp.) (Davis 702) is a highly regarded febrifuge. An infusion of huachumillo (Baccharis genistelloides (Lam.) Per.) (Davis 674) is drunk to treat inflamations. An unidentified member of the Juncaceae—hierba de dominacion—is a magical plant that allows one to dominate enemies, as it insulates one’s “forces of white magic from the power of evil”. One of the most important of the Huaringas plants is hornamo morado (Valeriana aa- scendens Turz.) (Davis 756), a powerful purgative that is sometimes added to the San Pedro preparations. Sharon (1972, 1978) reports a series of additives under the generic term “hornamo”—hornamo_ blanco, hornamo amarilla, hornamo morado, hornamo cuti, hornamo caballo. Although only hornamo morado was specifically identified by my informant, it is significant that at least three other species of Valeriana (V. malvacea Graelsn. (Davis 743), V. Mutisiana (Wedd.) Hoch. (Davis 752) and V. microphylla HBK. (Davis 753) were found ca growing near Las Huaringas. The roots of Valeriana officinalis L. contain valerianic acid which, when ingested in medicinal doses, acts as a stimulating tonic, anti-spasmodic and calmative. Excessive doses result in headaches, mental excitement, visual illusions, giddiness, restlessness, agitation and spasmodic move- ments (Hutchens 1973: 286). The magic plants recognized by don Pancho Guarnizo are by no means found only besides the sacred lakes. San Pedro grows predominantly at the lower elevations in the environs of Huancabamba. Also close to Huancabamba, found only on the steep slopes of an isolated geological formation known as the Cerro Colorado, there occurs a second species of psychoactive cactus named pishicol (Armatocereus laetus (HBK.) Backeberg) (Davis 759). This plant, previously unreported as an hallucino- gen, is an extremely rare endemic known from only four localities, all in northern Peru: Jaen, east of the Abra Porculla on the boundary of the departments of Piura and Cajamarca, Sondorillo, and Huancabamba on the Rio Huancabamba (Zimmerman pers. comm.,). It is a tall columnar, night-blooming cactus (12 feet), with erect, articulated branches with six to eight ribs. According to Dr. Allan Zimmerman, an expert in the neotropical Cactaceae, there are two other Armatocereus species in the region, but “one (A. Rauhii Backeb. has shorter spines and is a tall slender tree; the other (A. Ghiesbreghtii (K. Schumann) Ritter. var. oligogonus (Rauh. et. Backeberg) Ritter.) has stems that are only four to five ribbed.” (Zimmer- man pers. comm.). Pishicol is considered by don Pancho Guarnizo to be as powerful as San Pedro and is prepared and ingested ina similar way: that is, three or four pieces a foot and a half long are sliced transversely, placed in a five gallon can of water and boiled for several hours. Phytochemical analysis of the species is now underway, and the results will be presented in a future publication. An outstanding ethnobotanical problem associated with the Huancabamba cults yet adequately to be resolved concerns the botanical meaning of the term cimora. Cruz-Sanchez (1948: 253) suggested that cimora was the term applied to a particular 378 intoxicating blend of plants that included, in addition to San Pedro (Trichocereus Pachanoi), “el Pedillanthus titmaloides sp. [sic] (cimora misha or ‘planta magica’), la Isotoma longiflorum [sic] (cimora toro or misha veneno), la Datura stramonium (el chamico)”. In addition to these, he referred to a number of unidentified plant additives by their vernacular names, including “la cimora misha blanca, la cimora misha curandera, la cimora misha_ rastrera, la cimora misha galga, la cimora misha huaquera, la cimora misha adivadora, la cimora misha amarilla, la cimora misha morada”. Friedberg (1960: 25) disagreed with Cruz-Sanchez and stated that cimora “is not a drink composed with a cactus but is a plant of the Amaranthaceae in the genus Iresine”. She also identified the vernacular name misha as specifically applying to the solanaceous Datura arborea. In the same paper, however, she stated that San Pedro or Huachuma, as it is known in the northern sierra, had three locally recognised varieties: “/a curandera, la huachuma misha and la huachuma rastrera”. When Schultes (1967) reviewed the problem, he cited an earlier paper of Friedberg (1959) in which J/resine is referred to as timora, a “magic and dangerous herb” (Friedberg 1959: 443). Friedberg (1959: 448) also reported that a number of varieties of Datura arborea — misha — are identified by various animal names which she did not specify. She did mention three locally recognized forms of timora—timora lanza, sehorita, and sanguracha. Schultes (1967: 39), not surprisingly, questioned whether cimora and timora might not be two forms of the same word. The anthropologists Sharon (1972, 1978) and Dobkin de Rios (1968, 1969, 1977) simply repeated Friedberg’s earlier determinations without reference to new voucher speci- mens. Schultes and Hofmann (1980) consider cimora a beverage made up of a number of plants (sensu Cruz-Sanchez 1948); but as authorities they cited Dobkin de Rios (1977) and Friedberg (1959). Dobkin de Rios (1977) made no mention of cimora and Friedberg (1959) used the term timora, not cimora. This minor oversight on the part of Schultes is understandable because Friedberg (1980: 38) used the two terms interchangeably, both again in reference to the amaranthaceous genus /resine.’ 319 My own findings from the field, though by no means definitive, do have the advantage of being based on voucher specimens. It is worth noting that, quite by coincidence, my contact at Huancabamba and Las Huaringas, don Pancho Guarnizo appears to have been Friedberg’s major informant (Friedberg 1963: 249-254). According to José Guarnizo, the herbalist son and colleague of Pancho Guarnizo, cimora is a conceptual term referring to “algo malo”—something bad. In this sense, he recognized a number of locally distinguished forms of Brugmansia X candida Pers. (identified by earlier students as Datura arborea L.) as cimora oso (Davis 670), cimora galga (Davis 672, 671, 687, 757, 758) and cimora toro curandero (Davis 673, 686). Other uncollected cimoras which he compared morphologically with Brugmansia X candida were cimora aguila, cimora leon, cimora rastrera. Although all of my collections have been identified as B. X candida, these unidenti- fied vernacular names may refer to some of the other species of Brugmansia reported from the valley (Brugmansia insignis (B. Rodrigues) Lockwood, B. suaveolens (H. et B. ex Willd.) Bercht et Presl., and B. versicolor Lagerh.) (Friedberg 1980). According to José Guarnizo, these brugmansias, which he also referred to as mishas, were rarely added to the San Pedro preparations. Rather, the curandero, when faced with a particularly difficult case, might ingest these powerful plants alone, and thus divine the source of the particular affliction. Timora, according to my findings refers to a number of plants, including Euphorbia cotinifolia L. (Davis 673a) and Iresine celosia L. (Davis 688). Iresine, although not known to have biodynamic principles, has a reputation among the maestros for curing insanity (Schultes and Hofmann 1979). It is of note that a related amaranthaceous plant, A/ternanthera Lehmannii Hieron. is known to the Ingano Indians of southern Colombia as borrachera, “intoxicant” and they add it to their ayahuasca preparations to increase the psychotomimetic prop- erties of the drink (Schultes 1957). In summary, the term cimora appears to be a generic term which may be applied to a number of plants, specifically the brugmansias and perhaps, if Cruz-Sanchez was correct, the 380 euphorbiaceous Pedilanthus tithymaloides Poit. as well as the campanulaceous Hippobroma longiflora (L.) G. Don. (= Iso- toma longiflora L.). Since I was unable to collect voucher speci- mens of the latter two species, the complete meaning of the term cimora still remains somewhat uncertain. Schultes (1967: 39) in reference to the identification of cimora has stated: “Here is one of the most challenging problems in the ethnobotany of hallucinogenic plants, and one which would not be difficult to investigate thoroughly.” Today, nearly fifteen years later, and despite the attention that numerous ethnobotanists and anthropologists have given the Huancabamba cults, this fundamental Clarification remains to be made. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The field work reported here was funded in part by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Doctoral Fellowship) and in part by the Inter-American Foundation and the Atkins Fund of Harvard University. I would like to thank Dr. Michael Dillon, Dr. Timothy Plowman, Ms. Penny Matekaitis, Dr. Allan Zimmerman, and Mr. Steven Clements for identifying specimens and Prof. Richard Evans Schultes for reviewing the manuscript. During the fieldwork, I was ably assisted by Ms. Etta Turner. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to don Pancho Guarnizo, his son José and his entire family who received and sheltered me in Huancabamba and at Las Huaringas and who shared with me their remarkable spiritual insight. Voucher specimens are deposited in the Economic Botany Herbarium of Oakes Ames at the Botanical Museum, Harvard University and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. LITERATURE CITED Cobo, B. 1956. Historia del Nuevo Mundo. Obras del P. Bernabe Cobo, vols. 1, 2. Edited by P. Francisco Mateo. Biblioteca de Autores Espafioles, vols. 91 92. Madrid: Ediciones Atlas. Cruz-Sanchez, G. 1948. “Informe sobre las aplicaciones de la Cimora en el norte del Peru.” Rev. Farmacol. Med. Exper. 1(2): 253-258, 381 Dobkin de Rios, M. 1968. “Trichocereus Pachanoi—a mescaline cactus used in folk healing in Pert.” Econ. Bot. 22(2): 191-194. 1969. “Curanderismo psicodélico en el Pert: continuidad y cambio.” Mesa Redonda de Ciencias Prehistoricas y Antropoldgicas 1: 139-149. Publicacciones del Instituto Riva-Aguero no. 53A: Lima. 1977, “Plant hallucinogens and the religion of the Mochica— an ancient Peruvian people.” Econ. Bot. 31: 189-203. Friedberg, C. 1959. “Rapport sommaire sur une mission au Perou.” J. Agric. Trop. Bot. Appl., 6(8-9): 439-450. 1960. “Utilisation d’un cactus 4 mescaline au nord du Peérou (Trichocereus Pachanoi)” Sixth International Congress of Anthropo- logical and Ethnological Sciences 2(2): 21-26. _ 1963, “Mission au Pérou-Mai 1961-Mars 1962.” J. Agric. Trop. Bot. Appl., 10(1-9): 33-52, 245-258, 344-386. 1980. “Lo imaginario en las terapias populares” Med. Trad. 3(9): 29-44. Gheerbrant, A. (ed.) 1961. The Incas—The Royal Commentaries of Garcilaso de la Vega. Avon Books, New York Gutierrez-Noriega, C. 1950. “Area de mescalinismo en el Peru.” Am. Indig. 10(3): 215-220. Harner, M. J. (ed.) 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism, Oxford Univer- sity Press, London. Hudelson, J. E. 1981. The Expansion and Development of Quichua Transitional Culture in the Upper Amazon Basin, Doctoral Dissertation, Columbia University. Hutchens, A. R. 1973. Indian Herbalogy of North America, Merco, Windsor, Canada. Luna, L. E. 1983. “The concept of plants as teachers among mestizo shamans of Iquitos, Northeast Peru.” paper presented at the Symposium on Shamanism at X/ Jnternational Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Oliva, A. 1895. Historia del Reino y Provincias del Peru. \mprenta y Libreria de San Pedro, Lima. Rowe, J. H. 1948. “The Kingdom of Chimor.” Act. Amer. 6: 26-59. Schultes, R. E. 1957. “The identity of the malpighiaceous narcotics of South America.” Bot. Mus. Leafl. Harvard Univ. 18(1): 1-56. 1967. “The place of ethnobotany in the ethnopharmacological search for psychotomimetic drugs.” in Efron, D., Holmstedt, B., Kline, N. S. (eds.): Ethnopharmacological Search for Psychoactive Drugs: 291-306. Public Health Serv. Publ. No. 1645, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. and A. Hofmann. 1979. Plants of the Gods, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. 1980. The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois. Sharon, D. 1972. “The San Pedro cactus in Peruvian folk healing”. in Furst, P. T. (ed.) Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens: 114-135 Praeger, New York. 382 . 1978. Wizard of the Four Winds, The Free Press. Towle, M. 1961. The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru, Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology No. 30, New York. von Hagen, V. W. 1964. The Desert Kingdoms of Peru. Mentor Books, New York. 383 PLATE 41 San Pedro (Trichocereus Pachanoi) at Cataluco, near Huanca- Plate 41. bamba. 384 PLATE 42 Plate 42. José Guarnizo, son of don Pancho Guarnizo, at Cataluco with harvested San Pedro (Trichocereus Pachanoi) (Davis 677). 385 PLATE 43 Plate 43. Pishicol (Armatocereus laetus) on the slope of Cerro Colorado with the town of Huancabamba in background. 386 BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS Vol. 29, No. 4 FALL 1983 CARVED ‘DISEMBODIED EYES’ OF TEOTIHUACAN JONATHAN OTT! AND R. GORDON WASSON? Situated a few hours’ drive northeast of Mexico City are the magnificent ruins of Teotihuacan, dating from the beginning of the first millennium A.D. Best known for two large, stepped pyramids (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon) and the smaller, more ornate Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, the ruins abound in numerous low, labyrinthine buildings which are decorated with beautiful and complex mural paintings. The comparatively well- preserved Tepantitla murals are best known to scholars, a prominent segment having been restored and repainted in the Teotihuacan room of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City by Agustin Villagra Caleti. Portions of many other murals survive at Teotihuacan, while some, such as the important Zacuala murals, which are unprotected from the elements, are scarcely visible today. In his 1973 book The Mural Painting of Teotihuacan (1), Arthur G. Miller drew attention to the prominence of the ‘disembodied eyes’ which occur repeatedly in the mural paint- ings of Teotihuacan. Figures 1-4 illustrate some typical ex- amples of the recurrent ‘disembodied eyes’, motif. One of us (J. Figure 1. ‘Predella’ from Zacuala, Teotihuacan, repainted by Abel Mendoza. Notice ‘disembodied eyes’ flanking central motif representing four mushrooms surrounding the radiant ‘logos’. 'President, Natural Products Co., P.O. Box 273, Vashon, Wa., 98070. 2Honorary Research Associate, Harvard Botanical Museum, Cambridge, Ma. 387 . ¥4 re i a 4 OS kt rear e ee ¢ a) Suef Me Figure 2. Drops of entheogenic potion with appended ‘disembodied eyes’ from Teotihuacan murals. Reproduction by Margaret Seeler. 388 O.), during a recent visit to Teotihuacan, was struck by the ubiquity of these ‘disembodied eyes’, indeed, it was difficult to escape the sensation of being watched constantly. We here comment on the existence of ‘disembodied eyes’ in relief carvings at Teotihuacan. The carvings are found on columns in a courtyard of a structure known as the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl*, located at the west corner of the Square adjacent to the Pyramid of the Moon (Plates 44 & 45). The face Figures 3&4. Drops of entheogenic potion and appended ‘disembodied eyes’ issuing from entheogenic flowers. Reproduction of fragments of Tepantitla murals by Margaret Seeler. *The Palace of Quetzalpapalot! was excavated in 1962 and summarily restored under the direction of Mexican archaeologist Jorge R. Acosta. The structure dates from the sixth century A.D., belonging to the Teotihuacan III and IV eras. Details of the excavation and restoration can be found in Acosta’s book El Palacio del Quetzalpapalotl (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, México, 1964). 389 of each column in the courtyard is adorned with two rows of four ‘disembodied eyes’ arrayed above and beneath a carving of a bird (Plate 46). The carved eyes are realistic and are inlaid with obsidian ‘pupils’ (Plates 47 & 48). The identification of the carvings as eyes is unequivocal—witness the corresponding inlay of obsidian to the eyes of the creature in the carvings, which represents a chimera called Quetzalpapalotl, ‘quetzal bird/ butterfly’ (Plate 46). It is perhaps significant that the eye of the bird is round, as in nature birds’ eyes appear, whereas the ‘disembodied eyes’ are distinctly anthropomorphic, with upper and lower ‘eyelids’ giving the ‘eyeballs’ an ovoid shape. On the north, south and east sides of the courtyard, the columns identically depict the avian chimera in profile (Plate 46), whereas the columns on the west side show a frontal view, possibly of the same creature (Plate 49).* The columns are surmounted by a broad lintel painted with a repeated motif, which in turn is crowned by a series of carved stone ‘combs’ (Plates 50 & 51). In his book on the murals of Teotihuacan, Miller drew no conclusions as to the meaning of the ‘disembodied eyes’ or of the murals as a whole. One of us (R.G.W.) has proposed that the ‘disembodied eyes’ represent the visionary sight of the shaman or participant in an agape involving ingestion of a potion compounded of entheogenic mushrooms, morning glory seeds, or other plants with allied effects. This interpretation is based on the occurrence of mushrooms, flowers and seeds in juxtapo- sition with the ‘disembodied eyes’ (vide Figures 1-4), and the association of the eyes with green drops issuing from the flowers (green, the color of jade, signifies religious value), drops which are symbolic of the entheogenic potion. This theory is laid out in detail in The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica (2), which further suggests that the labyrinthine buildings of Teotihuacan, decorated with these entheogenic motifs, were groups of cenacula in which sacramental ingestion of entheogens *Scholars have differed on the question whether one or two birds are here depicted. Ina recent paper (Ethnos 32: 5-17, 1967) Arthur G. Miller summarizes the evidence and concludes that the bird depicted frontally represents an owl, whereas the bird depicted in profile represents the quetzal. Acosta, in his comments regarding his reconstruction of the columns, identified the profile birds as quetzal bird/ butterfly chimeras, hence the name Quetzalpapalotl. 390 — took place. The carved ‘disembodied eyes’ of the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl are further evidence confirming this hypothesis. The ‘disembodied eye’ motif is not restricted to Mesoamerican art. Figure 5 illustrates the design on a gold ring, circa 1500 B.C., from Crete. The scene probably depicts an epiphany of the Great Mother goddess Artemis (the figure on the right) in the form of an anthropomorphic bee (3). The hierophants who attended the Ephesian Artemis were called Essenes or ‘King Bees’ and the later Greek mother goddesses, such as Rhea and Demeter, were attended by priestesses called Melissae, ‘Bees’ (4). It would seem that the four figures on the left of the ring represent the Melissae, bee-priestesses worshipping the goddess. A ‘disembodied eye’ is clearly represented near the center of the composition, between the goddess and her devotees. Here we have a representation of a visionary scene, from an Old World oe oe 32: Hi... feeaceoes { Figure 5. Gold ring of Isopata near Knossos, greatly enlarged. Scene depicts epiphany of goddess (presumably Artemis) on the right, and four worshippers, all represented as anthropomorphic bees. Note ‘disembodied eye’ in center, and plants (presumably entheogenic) surrounding goddess. 39] culture and antedating by two millennia the murals of Teoti- huacan, yet accompanied also by a ‘disembodied eye’. We now know that the Greek culture practiced religious rites based on ingestion of entheogenic potions (5-7), and it is not unreason- able to assume that earlier cultures, such as the Minoans and Mycenaeans, had similar rituals. Does not the Minoan ring from Crete depict an entheogenic vision of the goddess and her devotees in their mythological forms, as human/ bee chimeras? It is significant that the goddess on the ring is surrounded by plants, presumably the source of the entheogenic potion. The carvings of ‘disembodied eyes’ in the Palace of Quetzal- papalotl echo a motif common in murals found throughout the ruins of Teotihuacan. What can the ‘disembodied eyes’ repre- sent, other than the visionary eye of the seer under the influence of one or other of the well-known pre-Columbian entheogens? Indeed, the image of the ‘disembodied eye’ suggested itself to one of us (R.G.W.) as a natural metaphor for the state produced by ingestion of entheogenic mushrooms. Written more than 25 years ago, in 1957 (8), long before the appearance of Miller’s book and without his having seen the ‘disembodied eyes’ of the murals or columns, R.G.W.’s words are apposite: There I was, poised in space, a disembodied eye, invisible, incorporeal, seeing but not seen. REFERENCES 1. Miller, A. G. The Mural Painting of Teotihuacan. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., 1973. 2. Wasson, R. G. The Wondrous Mushroom: Mycolatry in Mesoamerica. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1980. 3. Gimbutas, M. The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1974. 4. Ransome, H. M. The Sacred Bee. Houghton Mifflin, Boston and New York, 1937. 5. Wasson, R. G., A. Hofmann and C. A. P. Ruck. The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978. 6. Ruck, C. A. P. Mushrooms and Philosophers. Journal of Ethno- pharmacology. 4: 179-205, 1981. The Wild and the Cultivated: Wine in Euripides’ Bacchae. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 5: 231-270, 1982. 8. Wasson, R. G. Seeking the Magic Mushroom. Life Magazine 19 May 1957, p. 109. 392 PLATE 44 ea Plate 44., Looking north at Teotihuacan, with Pyramid of the Moon at right and Place of Quetzalpapalot! at left in foreground. 593 PLATE 45 | ' Plate 45. Entrance to Palace of Quetzalpapalotl at Teotihuacan. 394 PLATE 46 ’ Column showing Quetzalpapélotl chimera and ‘disembodied eyes’. Plate 46. 395 PLATE 47 Plate 47. Closeup of ‘disembodied eye’ from column. Note inlaid obsidian ‘pupil’ and anthropomorphic ‘eyelids’. 396 PLATE 48 rs pee ge Seg as * ee Ce Closeup of ‘disembodied eyes’. Plate 48. 397 PLATE 49 West column with frontal view of avian creature and ‘disembodied Plate 49. , eyes’. 398 PEATE 50 Plate 50. West side of courtyard, showing columns surmounted by painted lintel and carved stone ‘combs’. 399 PLATE 3i Plate 51. Column, lintel and ‘comb’. 400