Psychoactive Material • Flowers • Stalks • Leaves Preparation and Dosage A tea can be made from the stalks (Schultes and Farnsworth 1982, 166*). The fresh stalks can be pressed to obtain a juice; "the shoot juice of Solandra maxima [= S. nitida] is an inebriant of the Mexican Indians" (Bremness 1995, 29*).

The Huastec are said to still ingest the flowers of solandra nitida ritually and to place the scented flowers on altars as an offering (Alcorn 1984, 320, 793*). The Mixtec also are reported to traditionally ingest Solandra as a hallucinogen for divination (Avila B. 1992*). The most well-known use of the "plant of the gods" known as kieli or kieri occurs among the Huichol Indians who now live in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

The Huastec use the rainwater or dew that has collected in the buds of solandra nitida as eyedrops to improve sight (Alcorn 1984, 793*). A tea made from the flowers is drunk to treat coughing (Yasumoto 1996,247). Constituents All of the Mexican species of Solandra contain potently hallucinogenic tropane alkaloids.

In Mexico, solandra nitida Zucc. (Perilla) is regarded as poisonous (Jiu 1966, 256*). A tea made from one flower induced a "toxic psychosis" in an adult, who required thirty-six hours to make The illustration to the left shows the kiele plant {Solandra sp.) on a Huichol yarn painting; the blooming shrubs to the right are from wall paintings at Teotihuacan and may represent Solandra bushes. (From Ratsch 1994) "Rue, leaves of henbane and thorn apple, dried Solandras and myrrh; these are the odors that are pleasing to Satan, our lord.

Solanda grandiflora and solandra nitida are the most commonly cultivated species for garden and ornamental use (Bartels 1993, 207*). Appearance The perennial, heavily branching, fast-growing climber develops oblong-elliptic leaves that are up to 15 cm in length and tapered at the end. The solitary, terminal, chalice-shaped yellow flowers exude a sweet scent, usually in the evening, that is intoxicating, delicious, and very fine. This scent is comparable to the perfume of Brugmansia suaveolens or Brugmansia x insignis.

The flower of solandra nitida can attain a length of 20 cm. Its fruits, known as papaturra, can weigh as much as 1 kg (Bartels 1993, 207*). Solandra species can be confused with the tropical dogbane Allamandra cathartica L., a potent laxative (Blohm 1962, 79 f.*).

Scopolia carniolica Scopolia spp. solandra brevicalyx Solandra guerrerensis Solandra guttata Solandra nitida Solandra spp. Solanum dulcamara Solanum hirtum Solanum nigrum Solanum villosum Solanum spp. Withania somnifera Scrophulariaceae Digitalis purpurea Lancea tibetica Scoparia dulcis Bignoniaceae Tanaecium nocturnum Acanthaceae Justicia pectoralis var. stenophylla Pseuderanthemum sp. Teliostachys lanceolata var. crispa Lentibulariaceae Utricularia minor Valerianaceae Valeriana officinalis Valeriana spp.

Don ex Lindley (possibly identical to solandra brevicalyx, Furst 1995, 55) Solandra nitida Zucc. [syn. Solandra maxima P.S. Green, Solandra hartwegii N.E. Brown, Swartzia nitida Zucc.J—cutaquatzitziqui, copa de oro To nonbotanists, these four species are difficult if not impossible to distinguish (Morton 1995, 20*). The Indians regard them as equivalent. The following species, which occur in Mexico and are rich in alkaloids (Evans et al. 1972), have not been ethnobotanically described or investigated to date: Solandra grandiflora Sw. Solandra hirsuta Dun. Solandra macrantha Dun.

The Huichol refer to solandra brevicalyx as the "true" kieli, and to Datura innoxia as kielitsha, "bad kieli" (Knab 1977,81). Distribution The genus Solandra is indigenous to Mexico (Schultes and Farnsworth 1982,166*). Most of the species occur in central Mexico. The genus is represented to the south as far as the rain forests of Chiapas (Martinez 1966). Several species have spread into the Caribbean and to South America (Peru) (Furst 1995,51). Cultivation Propagation is easily performed with cuttings.

The fresh leaves (of solandra brevicalyx) can be crushed and administered as an anal suppository or given as a decoction in the form of an enema (Knab 1977, 85). The dried flowers and leaves can be smoked alone or as a part of smoking blends. A medicinal dosage is regarded as the tea prepared from one fresh flower (Yasumoto 1996, 247). In colonial Mexico, Indians used the cup of gold to add zest to their cacao drinks (cf. Theo-broma cacao) (Heffern 1974,101*). Ritual Use The cup of gold is only rarely used as a shamanic trance drug, and the ethnographic reports are correspondingly few.

One of the plants they use has been botanically identified as solandra brevicalyx (Knab 1977, 86). In the mythology of the Huichol, the plant was originally a god: Kieli Tewiali, the god of wind and of magic. At the beginning of the world, he was born of the union of the cosmic serpent and the rain. Later, for the use and the blessing of humankind, he transformed himself into the enchantingly scented plant the "tree of the wind." An entire cycle of myths relates to this theme (Furst and Myerhoff 1966).

Effects The Huichol compare the visions produced by solandra brevicalyx with the effects of Lophophora williamsii but warn against the former because they may frighten a person "to death" (Knab 1977). In Mexico, Solandra nitida Zucc. (Perilla) is regarded as poisonous (Jiu 1966, 256*). A tea made from one flower induced a "toxic psychosis" in an adult, who required thirty-six hours to make The illustration to the left shows the kiele plant {Solandra sp.) on a Huichol yarn painting; the blooming shrubs to the right are from wall paintings at Teotihuacan and may represent Solandra bushes.

Be careful not to rely overly much on Ratsch's encyclopedia though. As useful as the book can be, there are known errors sprinkled throughout, so it's a good idea to use other sources to corroborate the information he presents.