Calea zacatechichi / Dreamherb / Compositae (Sunflower family)
Information
This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption
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for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be
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deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain
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documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make
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plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition.
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Other Names
The name of the species comes from Nahuatl "Zacatechichi" which means "Bitter grass" and is the common name of the plant all over Mexico. It is also known with the Spanish names of "Zacate de Perro" (Dog's grass), "Hoja Madre" (Mother's leaf) "Hoja de Dies" (God's leaf), and Thle-pela-kano in Chontal.
Description
Calea zacatechichi, also known as Dream Herb, Cheech, and Bitter Grass, is a plant used by the indigenous Chontal of the Mexican state of Oaxaca for oneiromancy (a form of divination based on dreams). Whenever they desire to know the cause of an illness or the location of a distant or lost person, dry leaves of the plant are smoked, drunk in infusions, and put under the pillow before going to sleep. Reportedly, the answer to the question comes in a dream. (1)(2).
Contents
Several sesquiterpene lactones had been isolated from the plant. Calaxin and ciliarin were identified by Ortega et al. (1970), and the germacranolides, 1B-acetoxy zacatechinolide and l-oxo zacatechinolide, by Bohlmann and Zdero (1977). Quijano at al. (1977-1978) identified caleocromenes A and B and caleins A and B. while Ramos (1979) found caleicins I and II. Herz and Kumar (1980) isolated acacetin, o-methyl acacetin, zexbrevin and an analogue, as well as several analogues of budlein A and neurolenin B, including calein A. The chemical composition varies between samples. (5)
Historical
Dreams have an important place in mesoamerican cultures. They are believed to occur in a realm of suprasensory reality and therefore are capable of conveying messages. In 1968 a naturalist, Thomas MacDougall, working among the Chontal Indians, reported a "secret" plant that is made into a tea or infusion and consumed in solitude while a cigarette of the same leaves is smoked. This produces a feeling of well-being that continues for one or more days. The Chontal medicine men, who assert that this plant is capable of "clarifying the senses," call it "Thlepelakano" or "Leaf of God." Subsequent interviews with MacDougall's informant and active participation in ceremonial ingestion revealed that the plant is used for divination during dreaming. (3)(4)(5)
Plant Description
C. Zacatechichi is a shrub measuring 1-1,5 m in height. The plant has many branches with oviform and opposite leaves (3-5 cm long and 2-4 cm wide). The leaves show serrated borders, acute endings and a short petiole. They are rugose and pubescent. The inflorescence is small and dense (comprising around 12 flowers each) with the pedicels shorter than the heads. The plant grows from Mexico to Costa Rica in dry savannas and canyons. (5)
Legal Remarks
Calea zacatechichi is an unscheduled substance in the United States, meaning that it is completely legal to grow and sell. However, Louisiana State Act 159 makes the substance illegal to grow, cultivate, harvest or sell in that state if intended for ingestion. There is no information about laws prohibiting Calea zacatechichi in any other country.(6)
This product is illegal or somehow problematic to send to the following countries.
Click on the country link for further information.
References
(1) Ethnopharmacology and taxonomy of Mexican psychodysleptic plants. Diaz JL. J Psychedelic Drugs. 1979
(2) Calea zacatechichi, Wikipedia article
(3) Narcotic Plants, revised ed., Wm. Emboden
(4) Botany & Chemistry of Hallucinogens, Schultes & Hofmann
(5) Psychopharmacologic Analysis of an Alleged Oneirogenic Plant Calea zacatechichi, L Mayagoitia, JL Diaz, CM Contreras, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 18 (1986)
(6) Calea zacatechichi Legal Status, Erowid
Articles
Any information provided about products on this website, including any links to external websites,
is purely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and should never be
interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the products.
Calea zacatechichi - Wikipedia
Chontal
Dreams
Lucid Dreaming
Oneiromancy
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