hallucinogenic jasmines

[Avery L. Breath]

Could this be refferencing the night blooming jasmine cestrum Nocturnum?  Anybody know anything about possible entheogenic properties of jasmines?  I know they are in the same family as morning glories, but thats about it.

from http://www.prn2.usm.my/mainsite/headlin ... y2003.html

The Sunday Star, 13 July 2003  

Court accepts jasmine tea as hallucinogenic  

Panama City   -  A man has been cleared on charges of aggravated assault and burglary after three psychologists agreed the episode was provoke by jasmine tea.

Gilbert D Walker, 43 whose defence attorney said, was drinking up to 10 cups of jasmine tea daily, burst into his neighbour's house one night, apparently under hallucination, and believed a set of ceramic Chinese dogs were barking or talking.  He flung a brass duck through the neighbour's glass door, thinking he had broken one of the dogs and chased the woman out of her house.  Police found him wild-eyed and shouting "I'm crazy".

According to forensic toxicologist Dr. Susan Rice, certain jasmines could be hallucinogenic.

[RifeHeretic]

My star Jasmine vine has ibogain and plenty of other little goodies. Was offering trades, but no one seemed interested.

Peace all,

Rife

*I'll try and get some pics so you know what I'm talking about, as I dont know the latin name*

[Stonehenge]

Star jasmine has only trace amounts, you would have to be very good at extractions to use it but it is possible. I wouldn't be surprised if the guy actually was using something in the datura or brug family.

[Avery L. Breath]

Well there is an erowid vault dedicated to jasmine, but it doesn't really have much in it yet.

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cestrum/

[Amomynous]

My star Jasmine vine has ibogain and plenty of other little goodies.

Yes, like cardiac glycosides

Be careful with this folks.

[winder]

Solanaceae = Night Shade family including potatoes

see this...

http://home.vtown.com.au/~dbellamy/native/solanace.html

as quoted below...

Spotlighting the Deadly Night Shade Family

All gardeners should grow representatives from the Potato or Solanaceae family, if only for the splendour of their drooping bluish sprays of yellow-centred, bell-shaped flowers. These attractive blooms are symbols of a 2000 member family that is saturated with nutritional, cultural, and medicinal attributes. Members include the traditional veggie gardens plants (hot peppers, potato, tomato, capsicum and eggplant); the aboriginal bush tucker plants (desert tomato, desert raisin and kangaroo apple); invasive weeds (the cruel boxthorn and blackberry nightshade), potent extract producers (Tobacco and Deadly Night Shade) and many colourful ornamentals (Potato vine, Angels trumpet, Chinese Lantern and Petunias).

Plant the Tasmanian Ray Flower and Kangaroo Apple

The Tasmanian and Southern Australian aborigines traditionally treated Kangaroo Apple's (Solanum laciniatum) cherry-sized fruits with all the respect that this potentially toxic bush tucker plant deserved. Feasting on these tomato-tasting fruits only occurred once the fruit was very ripe. To enhance the ripening process they buried piles of the yellow fruits in mounds of sand to soften and deepen their colour to an orange red.

Today as a bush tucker food, it is very versatile and can be substituted for tomatoes or eggplants to produce a delightfully spicy relish or chutney. The fruits can also be dried and preserved in herbed olive oil as a substitute for dried tomatoes.

As a short-lived medium sized shrub, it is an excellent rapidly growing addition to any backyard bush tucker patch. Its attractive potato-like blue flowers are reason enough. Additionally, as its lush foliage can grow rapidly, regular harvesting can provide plentiful supplies of rapidly compostable leaves.

The rare endemic Tasmanian Ray Flower Cyphanthera tasmanica is ideal for backyard native plant patches. This small shrub has showy, creamy-white flowers with purple stripes and grey-green foliage. Like the Kangaroo Apple, they are drought tolerant and require hard pruning annually to keep them compact. Propagation is easy from seed or cuttings.

Bush tucker treats from Bush Tomatoes and Raisins

The name Bush Tomato has been applied to a number of small shrubs with purple flowers, furry leaves and fruits like small unripe tomatoes. In the scorching sun of the southern deserts these fruits can shrivel on the shrub, concentrating the sugars to produce sweet Bush Raisins. Thus the interchangeable common names, Wild or Bush Tomatoes and/or Raisins have been applied to a number of plants, some of which are botanically identified as Solanum ellipticum, Solanum petrophilum and Solanum centrale.

They are valuable aboriginal bush foods traditionally gathered in large amounts from the dry outback. Once collected, they are ground to form a paste and rolled into sizable balls, before being covered with red ochre ready for sun-drying.

As a tasty larder to be eaten when fresh fruits are scarce, they are either stored as tennis ball sized lumps hung in tree forks or strung on sticks which they carry from camp to camp.

As many wild tomatoes, eg the Acid Berry Solanum esuriale, are rich in Vitamin C, the early desert explorers (including Charles Sturt) and drovers, prevented scurvy by cooking them with their meat stews or muttonchops. Aboriginal culture meticulously passed down through the generations, accurate identification of the edible Bush Tomato producing plants. They were well aware that many, similar featured poisonous Bush Tomatoes are to be found thriving side by side with edible ones.

Many have narcotic and/or toxic properties

The family's common name 'Deadly Night Shade' reflects a precautionary note about the toxic nature of many of its members. This name is derived from the herb called Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna, which contains a potent narcotic extract called Atropine. This is used medicinally as an eye dilating drug and sedative.

Another plant with toxic properties is the foetid smelling, Thorn Apple Datura stramonium, commonly found in India. Even today Indian thieves and assassins are consistently administering high doses to their victims in order to render them insensible. However, it also contains beneficial alkaloids, which alleviate asthma and act as a pre-anaesthetic in childbirth and surgery.

Of the well known family members, Tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum is a very hazardous plant. Less known are the allergies encountered by some regular consumers of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum and/or aubergines. To illustrate, a world-renowned ballet dancer became crippled with muscular and joint pains and was unable to dance. Following a diagnosis of intolerance to these foods she resumed her distinguished career within a month of excluding them from her diet. Other users report that within a short time of eating them they have difficulty in relaxing and/or sleeping. Vivid dreams are symptomatic of this intolerance.

Interesting glimpses into the history of potatoes and tomatoes

Through the millenniums and within many cultures intriguing uses have been given to the potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) and tomato fruits (Lycopersicon lycopersicum).

The early S. American Indians cooked with potato flour called 'chuno' extracted by repeatedly freezing the potatoes overnight and kneading the thawed blackened tubers to express floury water. This dried flour extract was the basis for breads and savoury dishes. Of course all cultures were cautious about consuming the potato's toxic greenish yellow, cherry-sized fruits or any light induced green portions of potato tubers.

In the 1500's the Spanish and French named the tomato 'Love Apple' as a response to its perceived aphrodisiac properties. Following its introduction into England fears remained about its toxic nature, which relegated its use to ornamental display only. It was only in the mid 1800's that it became accepted as an edible fruit.

Even notorious weeds have their uses

The berries from the common garden and crop weeds Blackberry Nightshade, Solanum nigrum and the Glossy Nightshade, Solanum americanum have a variety of tastes sensations ranging from a sweet mulberry-like taste through to a somewhat bitter taste. The early settlers frequently made jam from the shiny black berries (10 ounces of sugar to the pound of fruit). The tender green leaves were also cooked and eaten.

The S. American origin weed Cape Gooseberry, Physalis peruviana are weeds of moist bushland forests. Their cherry sized, sweet, tangy fruit are concealed in straw capsules. These small bushes are still worthy of cultivating in the fruit garden, provided any nearby native bush is constantly observed for seedlings sprouting from bird droppings. Preserves, chutneys and jams can be made and enjoyed from the harvest of a few small shrubs.

The vicious weed, Boxthorn, Lycium ferosissimum produces a succulent edible orange fruit, which birds eat, before spreading the seeds far and wide thus perpetuating its invasive nature. Producing impenetrable thickets with vicious needle thorns, it often provides the only safe refuge for native birds and bandicoots in recently cleared landscapes. Although anyone weeding out this plant deserves a medal, leaving small bits on the ground or beach will have worst repercussions than broken glass.

The fruits of the Lycium genus are used medicinally throughout Asia. Processed fruits are used for diabetes treatments, alleviating sexual impotence and retarding the aging process. One of its active alkaloid ingredients, Physalin is extracted to successfully treat Hepatitis B. Another, Betaine is added to chicken feed and human nutritional supplements for enhancing muscle mass.

In conclusion, the Solanaceae family members produce a bundle of unexpected and attractive attributes for the backyard organic gardener. However, always take a cautious approach before enjoying their potential offerings.

Phil Watson

[Avery L. Breath]

I know they are in the same family as morning glories, but thats about it.

Doh!..... correction, morning glories are Convolvulaceae.......

[Stonehenge]

winder, that's a nice article. There are lots of minor foodstuffs in the world that american's don't know anything about. Some new fruits and veggies are starting to show up in grocer's cases but that's usually because people from that region where people eat them come here. There are lots of other foods out there that we would overlook. Some of them are hard to eat, requiring a lot of cooking and seasoning to make palatable. Most north americans and europeans will find a lot of them too much work to be worth it or the price too high. The taste may not be likeable to many people if they aren't used to it. But, there might be some real gems out there not widely known.

[Amomynous]

Solanaceae = Night Shade family including potatoes

If I'm not mistaken, star jasmine is a member of the Apocynaceae (dogbanes), not Solanaceae.  Regardless, it is a family to be careful with.

[winder]

The erowid link says that Cestrum is a Solanaceae family member.

Maybe they got it wrong.

[Avery L. Breath]

In looking around I'm finding sites that state the jasmines belong to is the Oleaceae (olive) family.  However the Cestrum Nocturnum is a false jasmine belonging to the Solanaceae (nightshade family).  here's one refference...

http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cestrum.cfm

[Amomynous]

Maybe we're speaking of diffferent plants. Star Jasmine (according to what I've read) is Trachelospermum jasminoides, and is in the dogbane family.

http://cals.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/ ... oides.html


Perhaps there are more than one plant called "Star Jasmine."

[Stonehenge]

It would not be the first time two or more different plants were called the same thing. Common names spring up from appearance and usage. That's why it's important to look at the scientific name.

[Cassie]

I'd say the 'poisoning' article was refering to cestrum nocturnum because i read something somewhere about this plant which caught my attention as it self sows in my garden.  I tried to find the snippet i read but i did find this instead, where the last sentence mentions ritual use:
http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_ ... _nocturnum
I do find the scent  intoxicating and right now it's high summer and full moon and the perfume from these plants fills the night air.
Very interesting reading about the solanaceae. I recently disovered that physalis peruvianus has some good medicinal properties, being beneficial for the lungs,  but i am unable to find the details again.  I gained new respect for this rather invasive but welcome resident of my permacultural backyard.