Ipomoea violacea
Encyclopedia
Ipomoea violacea is a perennial species of Ipomoea
(morning glory
) that occurs throughout the tropics
, growing in coast
al regions. It is most commonly called 'Beach Moonflower' or 'Sea Moonflower' as the flowers open at night. The seeds of Ipomoea violacea contain several indole alkaloids
with an action similar to—but weaker than—that of LSD, and for this reason have long been used by the natives of Central America for preparing hallucinogenic infusions.
, western and southern Mexico
, Guatemala
, Ghana
, Kenya
, Seychelles
and Tanzania
. It grows in the wild at the altitudes up to 100 meters, and is also cultivated in gardens for its seeds.
to a fleshy, hairless stem. Flowers are usually solitary and about 10 cm long. The peduncle
is 0.7–7 cm long the pedicel
s is 1.5–3 cm long. The seed capsule is 2–3 cm long, oval-shaped and is two-celled. It opens up into four valves, releasing four pubescent
, elongated, edgy black seeds, about 1 cm long. The seeds have a narrow ridge and 3–6 mm long hair.
The plant requires much light, water and a warm climate. The seeds develop in May and germinate within 6–14 days after sowing; the optimal temperature for germination is 18 °C. The flowering season is from July to October.
peoples living in the present-day Oaxaca
and Veracruz
regions of Mexico. The seeds were called piule by Chinantec and Mazatec people, badoh negro by the Zapotechs and tlililzin by the Aztec
s. They were ground and used to make an infusion which had strong hallucinogenic properties. The condition of trance induced by drinking the infusion was used by local shamans to communicate with spirits "for the purpose of divination and diagnosis". The Spanish colonizers of Mexico suppressed this practice, but it was continued in the mountainous regions.
alkaloid
s, the most active being the amide
s of D-lysergic acid
and D-iso-lysergic acid (ergine
and isoergine). These amides are closely related to the lysergic acid diethylamide commonly known as LSD and are about one twentieth the potency of LSD. Other alkaloids present in the seeds include elymoclavine, lysergol
, ergometrine and chanoclavine. The alkaloid content varies between the plants; it is typically about 0.05% but can reach 1%. The alkaloids are produced not by the plant itself, but by fungi associated with it, and are transmitted to the plant via its seeds.
Ipomoea
Ipomoea is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 500 species. Most of these are called "morning glories", but this can refer to related genera also. Those formerly separated in Calonyction are called "moonflowers"...
(morning glory
Morning glory
Morning glory is a common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics is in flux...
) that occurs throughout the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
, growing in coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al regions. It is most commonly called 'Beach Moonflower' or 'Sea Moonflower' as the flowers open at night. The seeds of Ipomoea violacea contain several indole alkaloids
Indole alkaloids
Indole alkaloids are a class of alkaloids containing a structural moiety of indole; many indole alkaloids also include isoprene groups. Containing more than 4100 known different compounds, it is one of the largest classes of alkaloids. Many of them possess significant physiological activity and...
with an action similar to—but weaker than—that of LSD, and for this reason have long been used by the natives of Central America for preparing hallucinogenic infusions.
Distribution
Ipomoea violacea is found in tropical coastal regions of Africa, South and Central Americas, Asia and Polynesia, including the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, western and southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. It grows in the wild at the altitudes up to 100 meters, and is also cultivated in gardens for its seeds.
Appearance and growth
The flowers of Ipomoea violacea have a trumpet-like shape and various colors, including white, red, purple and blue. The leaves are heart-shaped, with the nearly equal length and width of 8–16 cm. They are attached by a thin, about 10 cm long petiolePetiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
to a fleshy, hairless stem. Flowers are usually solitary and about 10 cm long. The peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
is 0.7–7 cm long the pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
s is 1.5–3 cm long. The seed capsule is 2–3 cm long, oval-shaped and is two-celled. It opens up into four valves, releasing four pubescent
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
, elongated, edgy black seeds, about 1 cm long. The seeds have a narrow ridge and 3–6 mm long hair.
The plant requires much light, water and a warm climate. The seeds develop in May and germinate within 6–14 days after sowing; the optimal temperature for germination is 18 °C. The flowering season is from July to October.
History
The seeds of Ipomoea violacea had been valued as a potent hallucinogen by the ZapotecZapotec civilization
The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidence shows their culture goes back at least 2500 years...
peoples living in the present-day Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
and Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
regions of Mexico. The seeds were called piule by Chinantec and Mazatec people, badoh negro by the Zapotechs and tlililzin by the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s. They were ground and used to make an infusion which had strong hallucinogenic properties. The condition of trance induced by drinking the infusion was used by local shamans to communicate with spirits "for the purpose of divination and diagnosis". The Spanish colonizers of Mexico suppressed this practice, but it was continued in the mountainous regions.
Chemical constituents
The seeds of Ipomoea violacea contain various ergolineErgoline
Ergoline is a chemical compound whose structural skeleton is contained in a diverse range of alkaloids including a few psychedelic drugs . Ergoline derivatives are used clinically for the purpose of vasoconstriction and in the treatment of migraines and Parkinson's disease...
alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s, the most active being the amide
Amide
In chemistry, an amide is an organic compound that contains the functional group consisting of a carbonyl group linked to a nitrogen atom . The term refers both to a class of compounds and a functional group within those compounds. The term amide also refers to deprotonated form of ammonia or an...
s of D-lysergic acid
Lysergic acid
Lysergic acid, also known as D-lysergic acid and -lysergic acid, is a precursor for a wide range of ergoline alkaloids that are produced by the ergot fungus and some plants. Amides of lysergic acid, lysergamides, are widely used as pharmaceuticals and as psychedelic drugs...
and D-iso-lysergic acid (ergine
Ergine
Ergine, also known as d-lysergic acid amide , d-lysergamide, and LA-111, is an alkaloid of the ergoline family that occurs in various species of vines of the Convolvulaceae and some species of fungi...
and isoergine). These amides are closely related to the lysergic acid diethylamide commonly known as LSD and are about one twentieth the potency of LSD. Other alkaloids present in the seeds include elymoclavine, lysergol
Lysergol
Lysergol, is an alkaloid of the ergoline family that occurs as a minor constituent in some species of fungi , and in the morning glory family of plants , including the hallucinogenic seeds of Rivea corymbosa , Argyreia nervosa and Ipomoea violacea. Lysergol is not a controlled substance in the USA...
, ergometrine and chanoclavine. The alkaloid content varies between the plants; it is typically about 0.05% but can reach 1%. The alkaloids are produced not by the plant itself, but by fungi associated with it, and are transmitted to the plant via its seeds.