Banisteriopsis Caapi – Peruvian Shipibo Cielo

Banisteriopsis Caapi – Peruvian Shipibo Cielo

This very finely shredded Cielo Ayahuasca vine comes from the Amazon Jungle near Iquitos in Peru. This rare specimen of vine comes directly from the Shipibo tribe. They are the most famous Ayahuasqueiros of the Peruvian Jungle. The Shipibo are masters of their tradition.

Banisteriopsis Caapi

Banisteriopsis caapi is one of a thousands of species of plants in tropical South America. Three of these are known for their use in Ayahuasca in combination with other plants.  These three plants are B. inebriens, B. caapi and B. quitensis. The best known of these three species and the main component of Ayahuasca is Banisteriopsis caapi. There are many sub species in the B. caapi family of plants depending on the region where the vines grows.

Banisteriopsis caapi only contains harmaline which acts as a reversible MAO inhibitor it is not hallucinogenic by itself. Since harmaline is a reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor, it could increase the effect of some drugs problematically.

The geographical origin is not known because the plant is cultivated throughout the entire Amazonian region. The plant grows in the wild in Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Equador, Colombia and the other countries of the Amazon basin. Many of the local tribes have used it in their religious traditions through the millennia.

in tropical forests it grows as a shrub or as an extensive liana. The bark is usually chocolate-brown and smooth. It has opposite oval-shaped green leaves. They are between 8 to 18 cm long and 3.5 to 8 cm wide with an glabrous upper surface. It has inflorescence axillary or terminal cymose panicles. The flowers are 12 to 14 mm in diameter, 2.5 to 3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide with pink  petals. The petals are 5 to 7 mm long and 4 to 5 mm wide. This liana is both propagated vegetatively and from seed. The fan-like shaped seeds are green when fresh, but turn brown with age.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banisteriopsis_caapi