Ayahuasca Vine

Banisteriopsis caapi, known as caapi, soul vine, yagé or ayahuasca, is a South American liana in the family Malpighiaceae. It is a giant vine that can grow up to 30 metres long, with pale flowers that bloom infrequently, and it contains beta-carboline alkaloids and polyphenols. Indigenous peoples of South America have used it for centuries, and it holds the status of a "plant teacher" among the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest. It is the usual base of the ayahuasca brew, a decoction made with a plant that supplies dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The word ayahuasca comes from Quechuan languages and means "spirit rope" or "liana of the soul". Richard Spruce described the plant as a new species in 1851, after seeing the Guahibos of the Llanos in Venezuela chew its bark. Its legal status varies by country. The brew is traditionally taken in ceremonies led by shamans.