- Region
- South America
- Origin
- Mountain forests in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador; grown near the houses in the Sibundoy valley
- Traditions
- Kamëntšá and Inga medicine
South America · Herb · № 983
Iochroma fuchsioides
Herb · South America
Iochroma
Iochroma fuchsioides
A shrub of the nightshade family with clusters of tubular orange-red flowers. Withanolides, substances also found in ashwagandha, have been isolated from it. Why the plant acts as an intoxicant has not been explained.
Safety notes
A nightshade of unknown toxicity with a strongly purgative root: do not take internally. Not in pregnancy; a difficult birth needs a midwife or doctor. Internal injury after a blow needs a doctor at once. The plant is not listed in the Dutch Opium Act. Anyone who uses it anyway does so at their own risk. Traditional use is no proof of effect; consult a doctor or pharmacist if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication or have a medical condition.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Kamëntšá and Inga medicine (Sibundoy): Toxicity unknown; strongly purgative. Not in pregnancy. Internal injury and a difficult birth need a doctor.
Preparation
Do not prepare it yourself.
Use in traditions
In the Sibundoy valley the shrub is called borrachero, 'what makes drunk'. Kamëntšá and Inga healers prescribe the root as a strong purgative for colic, stomach ache and sluggish digestion, and have the raw grated root eaten with salt when internal injury is suspected after a blow. A woman is given a tea of the leaf at a difficult birth. Healers used to drink a tea of root and leaf to see what was hidden; that happens less now, because they feel ill from it for days. Against that hangover they drink a sweat-inducing tea of Hedyosmum from the high moors.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Kamëntšá and Inga medicine (Sibundoy)
Attributed effects
For colic, stomach ache and sluggish digestion, for suspected internal injury and at a difficult birth; formerly also to see what was hidden.
Preparation and amount
Do not prepare it yourself. The healers give the root as a purgative, the raw grated root with salt after a blow, and a tea of the leaf at a difficult birth.
Caution: Toxicity unknown; strongly purgative. Not in pregnancy. Internal injury and a difficult birth need a doctor.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)