Banisteriopsis caapi – Ayahuasca Vine (seed)

Description

Banisteriopsis caapi is the vine from which the South American hallucinogenic and healing brew ayahuasca is made. Family Malpighiaceae. Ayahuasca is a Kechua term for the drink made from this vine and translates to ‘Vine of the Soul’, referring to the freeing of the spirit. Also called yage, Caapi or Vine of the Dead. Banisteriopsis caapi stems are used in the preparation of a drink called Ayahuasca in South America and they contain beta-carboline alkaloids such as harmaline, harmine and tetrahydroharmaline. All plant parts contain these alkaloids in varying concentrations.

These seeds are from the Pucallpa region of Peru.

According to experienced individuals in the UDV, two different varieties of B. caapi are recognized; mariri caupuri and mariri tucunaca. The caupuri grows near the equator while the tucunaca thrives in the cooler climes of southern Brazil. Botanically speaking, they are consid­ered to be the same species. These two varieties are morphologically distinct and impart different sensations to the body and mind from the resulting teas. From the analytical results, a slight trend was observed towards higher levels of all harmala alkaloids in the caupuri samples, but this trend was not statistically significant. The subjective difference in teas from these two varieties is still a mystery (Phytochemical Analyses of Banisteriopsis Caapi and Psychotria Viridis J. C. Callaway et al. 2011. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kuopio, Finland b Centro de Estudos Medico da Uniāo do Vegetal, Sāo Paulo, Brazil).

We get a few inquiries about the expected viability and storage life of Banisteriopsis caapi seeds. The general (incorrect) assumption that has been repeated on the internet, is that they are viable for 6 months only and after that date, they are non-viable. We have not found this to be the case with properly stored seeds and expect seeds to have a good viability up to 1 year and beyond. We would expect seeds to have a life of between 1-2 years under ideal conditions.

Care and Cultivation of Banisteriopsis caapi

Sow Banisteriopsis caapi  seed just under the surface of a rich medium or coarse sand, depending on your preference. Cover only the ‘head’ of the seeds leaving the ‘wing’ above soil level. Water in and place in a warm humid environment. Germination should start at 14-21 days. Transplant once seedlings begin to crowd each other.

Banisteriopsis caapi likes rich and moist soil in part shade to full sun. Frost and drought sensitive. Likes a lot of root space. Fertilise well over the growing season. Keep trimmed along a fence for an excellent screening hedge plant.

5 or 10 seeds per packet