- Ilex guayusa
Taxobox
name = "Ilex guayusa"
image_width =
image_caption =
regnum =Plant ae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo =Aquifoliales
familia =Aquifoliaceae
genus = "Ilex "
species = "I. guayusa"
binomial = "Ilex guayusa""Ilex guayusa", commonly known as "guayusa", is a
tree of theholly genus, native to theEcuador ian AmazonRainforest . It is a distant relative of bothYerba Mate andYaupon Holly (the plant used to make the "black drink "). The leaves have the highestcaffeine content of any known plant.The leaves are boiled to produce a tea; due to the high caffeine content, the same leaves are often used multiple times, sometimes for several days. Fresh leaves are used as well as dried leaves, which are dried in rolls and strung together as a wreath resembling a Hawaiian lei.
In addition to the
stimulant effects, the tea is used to enhance dream recall. To achieve this effect, it is believed that the tea must be drunk consistently in the early morning, just after waking, before the sunrise. For many Ecuadorian indigenous, the morning drinking of guayusa is a social ritual.In areas in which it grows, it is also a common admixture to the powerful
entheogen ic brewayahuasca . [ [http://www.serendipity.li/dmt/hoasca.html#tbl1 Ayahuasca Analogues] ] It is added both in addition to the more common DMT containing plants as well as in the place of them. According to the Ecuadorian indigenous, it is also slightly hallucinogenic on its own, when drunk in high enough quantities. The plant can "contain more than 2.0% caffeine." [ [http://www.maya-ethnobotanicals.com/product_info.phtml/herbid_045 "Ilex guayasa"] ]Guayusa is sold under the brand name "Qat Tea", but is unrelated to the stimulant plant known as qat. [http://vitanetonline.com/description/UI0039/vitamins/Qat-Tea--Energetics--Certified-Organic/]
ee also
*
Psychedelic plants References
Notes
General references
*Pendell, Dale. "PharmakoDynamis", Mercury House:San Francisco, 2002. ISBN 1-56279-125-7
*Ott, Jonathan. "Pharmacotheon", 2nd ed. Natural Products Co.: Kennewick, WA, 1996. ISBN 0-9614234-9-8
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