← DISCOVERY / PLANT

Psychotria viridis

Chacruna · Chacrona

Amazonian

Pisofrix · CC BY-SA 4.0

Small shrub whose leaves are the most common source of N,N-DMT in traditional ayahuasca brews.

ECOLOGY & HABITAT

Understory shrub in Amazonian rainforest.

Distribution

PeruColombiaEcuadorBrazil

INDIGENOUS NAMES

The names this organism has been given by the cultures that have lived alongside it. Each carries an entire relationship — what is sacred is never simply translated.

Chacruna

Quechua
"To mix"
Rami

Hantxa Kuin · Cashinahua / Huni Kuin

TRADITIONAL USE

Paired with Banisteriopsis caapi in ayahuasca

CULTURAL CONTEXT

The DMT-containing plant is often seen as the 'light' or 'vision' component while the vine is the 'spirit' or 'teacher'.

GALLERY

3 images

REFERENCES

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McKenna 1998
Traditional knowledge

Kin & neighbors

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Anadenanthera peregrina

Yopo

Tree native to the Caribbean and northern South America whose seeds contain a powerful mix of bufotenine, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT. The seeds are roasted and ground into the snuff known as yopo, used in shamanic ceremonies of the Orinoco basin.

BufotenineN,N-DMT5-MeO-DMT

The primary vine used in traditional ayahuasca brews. Contains powerful beta-carboline MAO inhibitors that allow DMT from other plants to become orally active.

HarmineHarmalineTetrahydroharmine

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Neotropical

Brugmansia suaveolens

Angel's Trumpet

Tree with enormous fragrant pendulous flowers, containing the tropane alkaloids scopolamine, atropine, and hyoscyamine. Produces a deeply deliriant, dissociative state that many traditional practitioners describe as fundamentally different from — and more dangerous than — the tryptamine entheogens.

Diplopterys cabrerana

Chagropanga

Amazonian vine whose leaves are a potent source of N,N-DMT, frequently used as an alternative or complement to Psychotria viridis in ayahuasca.

N,N-DMT

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