Desfontainia spinosa
Richard Evans Schultes, in his pioneering article from 1977 “Desfontainia: A New Andean Hallucinogen,” describes collecting Desfontainia spinosa twice in Colombia’s Sibundoy Valley, first in 1942 and then in 1953. The Kamsá and Ingano shamans that Schultes consulted called the plant borrachero de páramo and told him that they would drink a tea from its leaves when they “want to dream” and also “to see visions and diagnose illness.” Generally, however, Schultes found that local medicine men were reluctant to discuss this plant’s use, writing “this reluctance in itself is an indication possibly that its employment is held more in secret because of a very special place that the plant holds in magico-medical practice.” The plant, also known as Chilean Holly due to the shape of its leaves (which are used by the Mapuche in southern Chile to create a yellow dye for wool used in the making of traditional clothing), still retains many of its mysteries. A team of researchers from Chile and Spain led by Emir Valencia studied the antifeedant activity of Desfontainia spinosa and found that it effectively had a deterring effect on the insect L. decemlineata. However, despite the extensive phytochemical study conducted, the scientists concluded that “none of the isolated products provide a basis for the reputed hallucinogenic activity” of this plant.
