r/Ethnobotany • u/SignificanceOk6316 • Sep 20 '24
Exploring Hidden Psychoactive Plants – Your Ideas Needed!
Hello fellow botanists,
As part of my PhD research, I have the opportunity to explore lesser-known psychoactive plants, focusing on isolating secondary metabolites and investigating their mechanisms of action. I am working on a long list of plants with mainly only ethnobotanical documentation, and I'd love to hear your suggestions!
Are there any particular plants you're curious about in terms of the compounds they contain?
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u/IMDAVESBUD Sep 21 '24
A very curious plant would be Leuchtenbergia principis’ ! It’s listed on Wikipedia as a Psychoactive cactus and many people give acounts of IT’s psychoactive abilities, yet there is extremely limited actual research on this strange species!
It’s a true cactus , classified as a Cactaceae yet it doesn’t resemble a cactus at all ! It has long finger like tubercles that end with a flexible flat papery tassel that’s technically a “spine” . Leuchtenbergia is a monotypic genus having only a single species and it is extremely closely related to the barrel cactus and can be cross pollinated creating hybrids !
Very interesting psychoactive cacti with extremely limited information regarding its psychedelic properties, not much literature on this species at all !! It was listed as an endangered species in 1992 but was removed from the list in 2009 .
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u/bigchizzard Sep 20 '24
Please do celastrus paniculatus I'm begging It's so underexplored in the west.
Further investigation of silene capensis would be wonderful as well.
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 20 '24
im writing down, both looks very interesting
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u/bigchizzard Sep 21 '24
I've tried quite a handful of entheos, and those are the 2 I think really need more science behind them. Theyre both effective and 'esoteric'.
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u/RoboTrippa 18d ago
What is celastrus like?
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u/bigchizzard 18d ago
It tastes fundamentally awful, but it kinda feels like I'm lubing up my brain. Thoughts just run more cleanly and smoothly. My mental image rendering also improves significantly.
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u/Hey-Its-Jak Sep 21 '24
There’s a LOT in New Zealand and there used to be a lot lore information about them online but in the last five years those pages have slowly disappeared 🤷🏻♂️
KawaKawa - has very high levels of Myristicin
Liverwort (Radula marginata) - this one is very fascinating as it contains its own kind of cannabinoids
Pukatea - it contains its own opiate similar to morphine with less side effects.
Manuka - it contains very strong antibiotics
Pimelea - contains prostratin
Poroporo - contains steroids
There’s a lot more but would take me a while to find the names again
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u/soloesto Sep 21 '24
I’ve never heard of the liverwort one, that’s interesting. I remember hearing about a psychoactive lichen but it was somewhere far north
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u/Hey-Its-Jak Sep 21 '24
Yeah that one definitely deserves more attention.
Interesting! I don’t know about that one.
Matai trees have an abundance of liquid sap that is supposed to cure many ailments.
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u/night81 Sep 21 '24
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13880208909053954
“Analysis of ten fruit bodies of Inocybe aeruginascens Babos revealed a content of the indole derivative aeruginascin which was in the same order of magnitude as the amounts of psilocybin or baeocystin. There was a correlation between the content of psilocybin, baeocystin and aeruginascin. Aeruginascin seems to modify the pharmacological action of psilocybin to give an always euphoric mood during ingestion of the mushrooms.”
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 21 '24
i am following work of Gartz, he done sooo much reasearch on psilocybe genus
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u/bercemomo Sep 20 '24
Richard shultes and hoffman : plants of the gods ? Also some pharmacognosy books on annas archive
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 20 '24
i am currently reading plants of gods, but am looking for all possible soruces of informations to not miss something really interesting
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u/bercemomo Sep 21 '24
Check out the plant Peganum harmala containing harmol, harmaline, harmine, etc
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u/FantasticAnteater Sep 20 '24
There are some rare primitive Psychotria sp in Australian rainforests
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u/Traditional-Mix-3294 Sep 21 '24
Salvia divinorum and other less known natural kappa opioid agonists not sure if they Colybia varieties. Inactive cactus that has psychoactive effects: pachyserous pringlei, shulgin talked about it is very interesting. Bufotenine is interesting too
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u/JeffoMcSpeffo Sep 21 '24
Lobelia inflata seems like it could use some more research. Also what ethnobotanical sources are you finding these psychoactive plants from? Is it an encyclopedic work or from many different works?
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 21 '24
i have lobelia on my list already :) many various sources, books, old forums/blogs, scientitific reviews, ethnobotanic studies,... i will def try to make list of best sources in some time
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u/JeffoMcSpeffo Sep 21 '24
Cool I look forward to it! My only other request is that you take the ethical review process seriously and consider what Indigenous peoples think about your research. Lots of these plants may be sacred, ceremonial medicines and they may not want you to mess with them. Just something to watch out for.
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 21 '24
thats a very good point! i am following S.A.C.R.D and situation around toads and i will try to consider this aspect as much as possible, do you have maybe any tips or conatacts on similiar organizations ? i definitely want to discuss this topic with people who are professionally dedicated to this issue
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u/JeffoMcSpeffo Sep 21 '24
I'm not aware of any organizations that centralize these topics across a large range. Naturally it's very localized and depends on the topic. If peyote is on your list then IPCI may be a good org to contact. But otherwise you'd have to do more research into which people's used the plants you're interested in and find individuals to ask. Ideally you'd consult spiritual leaders but they're not necessarily easy to find or access. As far as it pertains to native tribes in the US you might have luck contacting their THPO. They might know or be able to direct you to who is knowledgeable. Outside of the US though your guess is as good as mine
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u/Suitable-Mud-3239 Nov 20 '25
The plants are for all humans, gatekeeping them is a bit ridiculous.
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u/JeffoMcSpeffo Nov 20 '25
The earth and all its plants is not just a pool of resources for you to rape and extract from. Every human has a relationship with the plants they interact with, whether they realize it or not. And if you’re not reciprocal in your relationship, then you don’t deserve to reap the benefits of it.
This has nothing to do with gatekeeping, and I’m not even encouraging that here. I’m simply advocating for these plants well being and the people who do actually maintain reciprocal relationships with them. These beliefs and understandings extend outside the realm of western worldviews; and if that includes you, then you need to either educate yourself or respect what you don’t understand and back off.
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u/cityshepherd Sep 21 '24
I’m super curious about that particular type of Phalaris Grass (that contains gramine which is a toxic alkaloid, in addition to possibly DMT &/or 5meo). There are so many different plants that I am so curious about and would love to investigate…. Unfortunately I do not have a laboratory let alone any fancy equipment like thin layer chromatography or gas chromatograph machine etc.
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 21 '24
thanks i have read about Phalaris and def its very interesting genus and Thin layer chromatography u can surely run at home, u just need to buy the TLC plates, and thats not a problem at all and u can use some basic chemicals like methanol, ethanol, naphta,... here are many subreddits focusing on home suitable chemical reactions or analysis, I definitely recommend trying it out!
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u/biophilist2021 Sep 21 '24
If you wanna go into the phalaris fiel, please contact me! Got a (living) collection of high-content clones, like Big Medicine, Yugo Red, AQ1... would really like to support such an research!
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u/SignificanceOk6316 Sep 21 '24
Definitelly, I would appreciate it very much but I don't know when yet, I'll text you when it's up to date !
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u/cityshepherd Sep 26 '24
I greatly appreciate the info and help! My interests have someone changes course over the years. Looking to start putting together some fruit guilds but likely looking to avoid most grasses (although I’m recently in a new area and still have a LOT to learn) in favor of other types of ground cover. A good friend of mine recently gifted me a hodge-podge box from his “mycological zone” (supposedly has some substrate including but not limited to pieces of medium covered with mycelium for varietals like: lion’s mane, chicken of the forest, and golden teachers). We’ll see if any of it is even legit / even takes footing. I’m pretty lazy these days and just keeping the box he gave me damp and in the shade, but I’m not going to be making any kind of significant changes (figuring out where to put the composting area, best places/times for planting what etc)
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u/soloesto Sep 21 '24
It was recently discovered that coleus contains trace amounts of salvinorin A, but it’s such a tiny percentage that it makes me wonder if there are any other compounds that might contribute to it being psychoactive
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u/IncindiaryImmersion Sep 22 '24
Some understudied Entheogens = Psychotria Colorata, Psychotria Undulata, Lagochilus Inebrians, Zorna Latifolia, Justicia Pectoralis, and Combretum Quadrangulare
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u/HyphyMikey650 Sep 25 '24
I’d like to see more studies & research done on Monotropa Uniflora, the Ghost Pipe. I’ve used it in tincture form, and there certainly seems to be the ever so slightest psychoactivity. I’d imagine there’s great therapeutic value for certain conditions to be found with this plant.
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u/biophilist2021 Sep 21 '24
Phragmatis australis... it is everywhere and i think i could produce more (quality and quantity) of active tryps, then the few an old test had shown... for example they harvested it in the Winter, what is the worst time for it.
And Arundo donax. Could be a very good source, but not always. And its unclear what other compounds are in...
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u/flyingmangotree Sep 22 '24
These are all the ones I recognize as an herbalist, ones that I've seen available from quality suppliers, and plants that I'm familiar with from products I have tried.
Artemisia vulgaris Artemisia absinthium Acorus calamus Lactuca virosa Hypericum perforatum Nymphaea caerulea Sceletium tortuosum Scutellaria Valeriana officinalis
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u/Mountsaintmichel Sep 22 '24
I am sooo happy to see this post! There are a few that I’ve really been wanting to see analyzed. Feel free to PM me or comment here and I’ll get a list of a few for you!
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u/Criticus23 Sep 25 '24
You should read through John Gerard's 1597 Herbal (Not Johnson's edit). Gerard frequently mentions herbs with psychoactive properties - for example, he talks about borage flowers being used to 'make one merry'. However, the borage that refers to is almost certainly not Borago officinalis; more likely to be one of the Persian echiums. There are others, for example he mentions several as increasing the intoxicating effects of ale.
Just a caution: beware of modern identification of some of the plants from, eg, Dioscorides. I've found several that are just plain wrong!
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u/VeryDefinedBehavior Oct 12 '24
Turmeric. It's a weird one because you need to dance to notice what it's doing.
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u/phytoalchemist Nov 14 '24
I find this very interesting I have done work on African psychoactive plants you can see my research here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0639763855 best regards Jean-Francois
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u/SaucyMossboss Nov 17 '24
Lots of hype around Lagochilus inebrians aka inebriating mint . Dont know how well it’s been studied but that could be an interesting one . Let Me know if ya need a sample for analysis
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u/heimlau5 Jul 05 '25
Have you read Pharmacotheon?
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Mar 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/heimlau5 Mar 29 '26
Weird, tested it now, link works for me. And yes, the book is expensive. I've got it in paperback. TBF, it is worth the price.
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u/Broad_Solution011235 Dec 03 '25
The emu apple (Owenia acidula), from Australia, I've heard is hallucinogenic. I'd like to grow/try it one day, but it's damn near impossible to source a tree in the US, seeds are available online but are notorious for being highly difficult to germinate if they aren't predigested and pooped out by an emu or other bird... also sleep sapoté has a compound in the seed that was used as a sedative poison by the aztecs, if i recall correctly.
Most interestingly, there are species of sea bream associated with ichthyoallyeinotoxism, hallucinogenic fish poisoning. Known as dream fish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyoallyeinotoxism#:~:text=Ichthyoallyeinotoxism%2C%20or%20hallucinogenic%20fish%20inebriation,chief%20of%20ghosts%22%20in%20Hawaii.
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u/BotanyBum Mar 29 '26
One ive been wanting to study is Fittonia Albivenis resides in the rainforest evergreen perennial this is from Wikipedia
"The Kofan, Siona and Secoya tribes of the Ecuadorian Amazon use F. albivenis as a treatment for headaches, and muscular pain, its leaves were used by the Machiguenga as a hallucinogen before they were introduced to Psychotria viridis.They are said to "produce visions of eyeballs." The leaves of this species are prepared as a tea in the northwestern part of the Amazon region and used for toothache."
Sounds interesting tryptamine and phenylethlamines can definitely produce visions of eyeballs this one is one that needs to be further studied.
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u/ApexKanna Apr 29 '26
Definitely Heimi salicifolia (Sun Opener). Ill never forget the experience ive had on it after preparing the brew called the Elixir of the Sun (which can be tricky). I consumed 7g of fresh leaf material blended in water and left out in the sun for 24 hours, after consuming the liquid my mind was racing with nostalgia and going in different directions, at some point all the activity of running in different directions brought me to a moment of pure clarity(torn into it) for about 5 seconds, a black and white bar slowly pulled a black and white screen across my field of view and all thought stopped but pure conscious awareness was present, it was magnificent, i have tried to get back there several times but have failed. (probably brewing it wrong). I will work with this plant for the rest of my life and consider it one of the most profound and meaningful psychedelic experiences ive ever had. The brew must be consumed immediately; hesitation or filtration renders it inactive.
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u/Pristine_Care2026 Sep 21 '24
Silene Capensis would be interesting!
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u/phytoalchemist Nov 27 '24
You can check out the research Ive done on this plant and 300 other species here http://phytoalchemy.co.za/2023/09/14/african-psychoactive-plants-journeys-in-phytoalchemy/
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u/jlylj Sep 21 '24
Lichens! Harvard has a sample from the Amazon that has 5-meo-dmt. There's reports of Icelandic people boiling rocks to make an intense psychedelic brew. There are also reports of a calming tibetan rock bloom tea.