hallucinogenic orchid? what the what?

[likespaphs]

anyone heard this about Oncidium cebolleta/longifolium?
http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=1898

also, there was some mention of Cyp calceolus

 

[biothanasis]

OK!!! That is weird but lol... world is full of mystery...

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I used to grow O. ceboletta...really easy, bloomed every year, but then I gave it away...it wasn't the most exciting plant, unless i was willing to eat it....I had known that it was psychedelic, but does anyone know what the active alkaloids are? Hmm....my Trichocereus pachanoi cacti are almost 4' tall now......................Take care, Eric

 

[NYEric]

Cool. I'll have to keep an eye out!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I used to grow O. ceboletta...really easy, bloomed every year, but then I gave it away...it wasn't the most exciting plant, unless i was willing to eat it....I had known that it was psychedelic, but does anyone know what the active alkaloids are? Hmm....my Trichocereus pachanoi cacti are almost 4' tall now......................Take care, Eric

Eric, they contain phenanthrene alkaloids, but to date are unstudied by western science. This group is commonly called opiates or opium alkaloids. What is odd is that these don't tend to be hallucinogenic, but do create euphoric states, so would seem a poor substitute for mescaline. Then again, since the active ingredients remain unstudied it is hard to say what their clinical effects would be. Given the danger involved with opiates, I'd steer clear of this orchid as a natural high though.

 

[NYEric]

OK, I'll do it!

 

[Kavanaru]

sig... if I would have know that before... for sure this orchid would have not been called anymore "a plague" growing on the trees in teh house of my parents in Venezuela... (and most probably I would have never managed to get up to PhD:rollhappy::rollhappy

Just kidding I actually wanted to add, that this species is very very common in the region of venezuela where I grew up, and I have never heard anything about it being allucinogenic. I also worked with indigenous tribes, who normally use a lot of allucinogenic plants, and none of them ever mentioned the use of it (I kept a long list of allucinogenic species as I was working with alkaloids and bioactive compounds used in Ethnobotany)

would be interesting to have a closer look at this plants...

 

[Leo Schordje]

I used to grow O. ceboletta...really easy, bloomed every year, but then I gave it away...it wasn't the most exciting plant, unless i was willing to eat it....I had known that it was psychedelic, but does anyone know what the active alkaloids are? Hmm....my Trichocereus pachanoi cacti are almost 4' tall now......................Take care, Eric

Eric - I was going to tease you in your post of the Trichocerus flowers about how many people could "take a long trip without leaving your farm". Figuring 12 to 18 inches of San Pedro per dose, you have a party growing on your porch. oke:

The reference in the Erowid article about O. cebollata mentions the Tarahumara. In the vague but true part of my recollections, the Tarahumara are noted for using many of their entheogens in complex mixtures. It is quite possible that the Onc cebollata might have only been an ingredient, and might not have been the principal cause of the hallucinations that were reported. But I have not read the source articles, I am throwing that into the mix as shear speculation.

Anyone have a copy they would not mind scanning of:
F.R.Stermitz, T.R.Suess, C.K.Schauer, O.P.Anderson, and R.A.Bye, Jr., "New and Old Phenanthrene Derivatives from Oncidium cebolleta, A. Peyote-Replacement Plant", J. Nat. Prod., 46, 417-423 (1983).

When my O.cebollata grows up, and I get bored, maybe it will be time for a vision quest. I also wish my Trichocerus would grow faster. :evil: I have had too much time at home on my hands lately.

 

[li'l frog]

Perhaps a new catagory for AOS judges to explore?:rollhappy:

 

[NYEric]

Judging some of their decisions I think it's already been included! :evil: