Anadenanthera peregrina

Anadenanthera peregrina, also known as yopo, jopo, cohoba, parica or calcium tree, is a perennial tree of the genus Anadenanthera native to the Caribbean and South America. It grows up to 20 m (66 ft) tall, and has a horny bark. Its flowers are pale yellow to white and spherical. It is an entheogen which has been used in healing ceremonies and rituals for thousands of years in South America. This plant is almost identical to that of a related tree, Anadenanthera colubrina, commonly known as cebíl or vilca. The beans of A. colubrina have a similar chemical makeup as Anadenanthera peregrina, with their primary constituent being bufotenin. The wood from A. peregrina is very hard and is used for making furniture. It has a Janka rating of 3700 lb. and a density of around 0.86 g/cm³. The beans (sometimes called seeds) and falling leaves are hallucinogenic and are toxic to cattle. Chemical compounds contained in A. peregrina include: The bark contains a high percentage of tannins, 587 mg CE/g extract. Archaeological evidence shows Anadenanthera beans have been used as hallucinogens for thousands of years. The oldest clear evidence of use comes from pipes made of puma bone (Felis concolor) found with Anadenanthera beans at Inca Cueva, a site in the northwest of Humahuaca in the Puna border of Jujuy Province, Argentina. The pipes were found to contain the hallucinogen DMT, one of the compounds found in Anadenanthera beans. Radiocarbon testing of the material gave a date of 2130 BC, suggesting that Anadenanthera use as a hallucinogen is over 4,000 years old. Snuff trays and tubes similar to those commonly used for yopo were found in the central Peruvian coast dating back to 1200 BC, suggesting that insufflation of Anadenanthera beans is a more recent method of use. Archaeological evidence of insufflation use within the period 500-1000 AD, in northern Chile, has been reported. Some indigenous peoples of the Orinoco basin in Colombia, Venezuela and possibly in the southern part of the Brazilian Amazon make use of yopo snuff for spiritual healing. Yopo snuff was also widely used in ceremonial contexts in the Caribbean area, including Puerto Rico and La Española, up to the Spanish Conquest.