Voacanga africana

Voacanga

AfrotropicalCongolian rainforest

West African tree closely related to iboga whose bark and seeds are exceptionally rich in voacangine — a chemical precursor and close analog of ibogaine — and which is used by some Bwiti initiates as a substitute for, or complement to, Tabernanthe iboga.

ECOLOGY & HABITAT

Small tree of West and Central African forest edges and savanna woodlands.

Distribution

GhanaNigeriaCameroonGabonDemocratic Republic of the Congo

TRADITIONAL USE

Used by West African healers as a hunting aid and visionary plant
Sometimes used by Bwiti as an iboga substitute

CULTURAL CONTEXT

The pharmaceutical industry has long harvested voacangine from Voacanga as a feedstock for ibogaine production, helping to relieve pressure on wild Tabernanthe populations.

GALLERY

3 images

REFERENCES

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Dybowski & Landrin 1901
Krengel et al. 2019

Kin & neighbors

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Southern African shrub with striking orange whorls of flowers whose dried leaves are smoked as a mild, calming euphoriant — sometimes described as a gentler, more grounded cousin of cannabis.

Slender blue-petalled water lily of the Nile and tropical Africa whose flowers contain nuciferine and apomorphine — mild sedative, mood-lifting, and dream-enhancing alkaloids — and which is depicted constantly in ancient Egyptian art beside scenes of feasting and ritual.

Nuciferine

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