Banisteriopsis muricata

100% dried Banisteriopsis muricata in small chips, no additives. Origin: Ecuador.

Banisteriopsis muricata is a woody climbing vine in the Malpighiaceae family. It grows wild in the rainforests of the Amazon – in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and neighbouring regions – working its way up through the canopy until the stem reaches several centimetres in thickness.

The wood is rich in tannins and has a warm reddish-brown tone that sets the species apart from the paler vines of the same forests. The colour is clearly visible in the chips.

Among the Quichua of Ecuador's Oriente, vines of this kind are counted among the plantas maestras, the teacher plants. They are regarded not as material but as someone – with a will of their own, their own preferences, and their own demands about how they are approached. Knowledge of where the vines grow, when they are harvested and how the stands are tended has passed down orally between generations, and is in practice inseparable from the forest it came from.

Chemically, the genus Banisteriopsis is characterised by β-carboline alkaloids, chiefly harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine. The genus has long been a subject of ethnobotanical and phytochemical research, but the alkaloid profile of this particular species remains incompletely documented in the peer-reviewed literature.

⚠️ In accordance with Swedish and EU regulations, this product is not intended as a food supplement, medicine, or otherwise for human consumption. Keep out of reach of children and animals. Sold in accordance with local laws.