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Ungnadia speciosa
Mexican Buckeye
Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time and a purpose for everything under the heavens."
Nicknames: Mexican Buckeye[1][2]
Ethnobotany What is Ethnobotany? Ethnobotany, is the study of the cultural and religious use of plants. It is literally the study of the various fruits of the tree of knowledge from the book of Genesis, from the story of the Garden of Eden. Academics such as the Mckenna brothers also subscribe to this belief, and with plenty of evidence to boot.[3][4] Famous ethnobotanist include: Richard Evans Schultes, Terence and Dennis Mckenna, Gordon Wasson... According to one scholarly source, "Ungnadia seeds are often associated with the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), and the mescal bean (Sophora secundiflora), both recognized "hallucinatory inebriants".[2] For those of you that don't know, Peyote is a psychedelic due to its Mescaline content, and mescaline is a controlled substance. [Note: Peyote seeds can be purchased online and ship legally to the USA.] Warning about the mescal bean: One seed of Sophora secundiflora is said to be enough to kill an average sized adult. Back to the subject of Ungnadia... Archaeological research has found that the seeds of Ungnadia speciosa were used by the Indians of Texas and Mexico in magical and religious context, as a sacred medicine and or intoxicant.[2] I want to warn Christians out there, that when you see words like "sacred", "religious context", and "magical", you're most likely dealing with something connected to the occult.
Dangers: Warning: The seeds are toxic, and this plant is potentially very dangerous.[1][6][7] In pharmacology, sometimes things that are toxic, poisonous, or even deadly, can be utilized in a small enough dosage that results in them functioning as a medicine.[5] The use of penicillin is the best example of this. Penicillin is deadly, but when carefully dosed in very small, controlled amounts, it can help the body fight back against infections. This is made possible to a phenomena scientist call the arndt schultz rule[5]
Just how toxic is it?: According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centers website, "Stanford and his colleagues reportedly consumed up to 20 seeds without suffering ill effects."[11] With other plants like Atropa Bella Donna, 1-4 seeds may kill you. With botanicals such as the Mescal bean, even one seed may kill a person. Be careful. Remember the Arndt Schultz Law and Its Applications. This law states that any poison in a small enough dosage, has positive effects on life processes(in other words it behaves like a medicine, and is beneficial rather than harmful.)[5]
OG Observations: According to the University Of Arizona's website, saponin is toxic(in sufficient dosages). Saponin is often thought to be whats responsible for Xhosa Dream Root(Silene capensis) being oneirogenic.[10] I notice things like this over the years while doing my research and marketing. That is why this segment is called OG Observations, because these are interesting correlations that I've observed from my studies over the years, be it from reading, or from personal experimentation and observation. You know, a phytochemist is the type of person that could isolate out those saponins, resulting in pure saponin. It would be interesting to do studies on saponins effects on dreams. On a final random note, Yucca root(Yucca filamentosa) also contains saponin, and is specifically known for that phytochemical.
Classification: Perennial tree;
Plant Family: Sapindaceae;[1] Genus: Ungnadia;[1] Species: U. speciosa;[1]
Natural Habitat: Texas and Mexico[2]
Legality: I did a quick internet search for "buy Ungnadia speciosa", and it is being sold all across the United States. It's 100% legal in the US.
Mixes well with: I don't know. I have never actually consumed this plant and tend to stay away from ones that are toxic and poisonous. I have pretty good discernment when it comes to which plants to stay away from. Not every plant that's been said to be a hallucenogen is necessarily something that's safe, or that you want to mess with even. I can't suggest what would synergize with it until I know more.
Related Ethnobotanicals: Red Larkspur (delphinium nudicaule) is a toxic plant that the Native Americans used, Peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), and the Mescal bean (Sophora secundiflora)
More HerbsPedia Blogs: Olmedioperebea schlerophylla, a psychoactive rarity | dictyonema huaorani contains psilocybin! | What happened to botanicalspirit.com? | What happened to Meridian Botanicals?
Phytochemicals:
It contains cyanogenic principles.[2] To date, it doesn't appear that any psychedelic or hallucinogenic principles have been identified by phytochemist[2] This doesn't mean that they don't exist however, just that the scholars haven't gotten on board yet. According to Arizona State University: "The fruit and leaves of Mexican buckeye contain the toxic alkaloid saponin which is poisonous to livestock."[9] See my note under OG Observations for more on that.What is Phytochemistry? What are Phytochemicals?
Phytochemistry is the study of the pharmacologically active chemical components of medicinal plants(herbal remedies/supplements). One of my main objectives with this mission is to bring people to realize that these things really work. It is the occult that I believe has oppressed, and policed the lies that pills are medicine and ethnobotanicals are just witchcraft and bogus nonsense. There is real science behind herbal supplements, and it is called Phytochemistry, and Pharmacognosy.What is Pharmacognosy? According to Wikipedia, "The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources".[1] It's very similar to phytochemistry, and that is confusing.
Pharmacological / Medicinal Properties:
Emetic;[8] Poison;[8] An emetic is a substance used by doctors to induce vomiting. It's often suggested to be a "hallucenogen" due to the ethnobotanical facts brought to us by scholars like Wasson and Schultes, however: anything that's highly toxic and poisonous that's also commonly referred to as a hallucenogen, meets the definition os a dilerant. A dilerant is a psychoactive poison, or a true hallucenogen. The term hallucenogen and psychedelic are not in reference to the same thing, and should be discerned. Hallucenogen denotes delirium, while psychedelic means "mind manifesting", or "psyche manifesting". I want people to know the difference because in the past, there were ethnobotanical shops marketing these things in ways which I think are dangerous. Not all drugs were created equal, and one must be aware of dis-information that lurks. I take great care in citing my sources and backing up what I share here. I postulated that this plant when used in precise, safe, micro-doses, may have potential oneirogenic properties.(based on what I've learned about the saponins that it produces from other sources)Buy Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa)
Academic citations:
[2] Schultes, R. E. (2016). PHY TO CHEMICAL GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HALL UCINOGENS. Progress in Phytochemistry: Volume 7, 7, 301.
[3] Clarke, D. B., & Doel, M. A. (2011). Mushrooms in post-traditional culture: apropos of a book by Terence McKenna. Journal for Cultural Research, 15(4), 389-408.
[4] Brown, J. B., & Brown, J. M. (2016). The psychedelic gospels: The secret history of hallucinogens in Christianity. Simon and Schuster.
[5] Sharma, Rajneesh Kumar. "Arndt Schultz Law and Its Applications."
[6] Stahl, Carmine; McElvaney, Ria (2003). Trees of Texas. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-515-3.
[7] Little, Elbert L. (1994) [1980]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region (Chanticleer Press ed.). Knopf. p. 544. ISBN 0394507614.
Government sources:
[8] Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
[10] Toro, Gianluca, and Benjamin Thomas. Drugs of the dreaming: Oneirogens: Salvia divinorum and other dream-enhancing plants. Simon and Schuster, 2007.
[?] Food of the Gods: Schults, Hoffman
Encyclopedia Sources:
[1] Wikipedia contributors. (2024, October 20). Ungnadia. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:43, November 20, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ungnadia&oldid=1252272501
Other resources:
M.A.P.S. Ethnobotanical Studies By Scholars
PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Erowid.org Online Pharmacopoeia