''Calea ternifolia'' ( syn. ''Calea zacatechichi'') is a species of flowering plant in the aster family,

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. It is native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Its

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

common names include bitter-grass, Mexican calea, and dream herb.Simonienko, K., et al. (2013)
Psychoactive plant species – actual list of plants prohibited in Poland.
''Psychiatria Polska'' XLVII(3), 499–508. It is used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

and ritual in its native range.Ferraz, A., et al. (2009)
Pharmacological and genotoxic evaluation of ''Calea clematidea'' and ''Calea uniflora''.
''Latin American Journal of Pharmacy'' 28(6), 858-6

/ref>

Uses

In Mexico the plant is used as an herbalism, herbal remedy for

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

and

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

. The Zoque Popoluca people call the plant ''tam huñi'' ("bitter gum") and use it to treat

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

, and the

Mixe people The Mixe (Spanish ' or rarely ' ) are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the eastern highlands of the state of Oaxaca. They speak the Mixe languages, which are classified in the Mixe–Zoque family, and are more culturally conservative tha ...

know it as ''poop taam ujts'' ("white bitter herb") and use it for stomachache and fever. The Chontal people of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

reportedly use the plant, known locally as ''thle-pela-kano'', during

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

. Isolated reports describe rituals that involve smoking a plant believed to be this species, drinking it as a

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

, and placing it under a

pillow A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

to induce divinatory or

lucid dreams A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is n ...

due to its properties as an

oneirogen An oneirogen, from the Greek ὄνειρος ''óneiros'' meaning "dream" and ''gen'' "to create", is that which produces or enhances dreamlike states of consciousness. This is characterized by an immersive dream state similar to REM sleep, which ...

. ''Zacatechichi'', the former

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

, is a Hispanicized form of the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

word "zacatl chichic" meaning "bitter grass". Users take the plant to help them remember their dreams; known

side effect In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

s include nausea and vomiting related to the taste and mild-to-severe allergic reaction. While quite bitter if brewed in hot water, the bitterness can be considerably masked by brewing with Osmanthus flowers, which have a compatible scent profile.

Chemical composition

Chemical compounds isolated from this species include

flavones Flavones (from Latin ''flavus'' "yellow") are a class of flavonoids based on the backbone of 2-phenylchromen-4-one (2-phenyl-1-benzopyran-4-one) (as shown in the first image of this article). Flavones are common in foods, mainly from spices, and ...

such as

acacetin Acacetin is a 4′- ''O''-methylated flavone of the parent compound apigenin, found in ''Robinia pseudoacacia ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belon ...

and

sesquiterpene lactone Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids that contain a lactone ring. They are most often found in plants of the family Asteraceae (daisies, asters). Other plant families with SLs are Umbelliferae (celery, parsley, carrots) an ...

s such as

germacranolide Germacranolides are a group of natural chemical compounds classified as sesquiterpene lactone Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids that contain a lactone ring. They are most often found in plants of the family Asteraceae ...

s. The sesquiterpenes known as caleicines and caleochromenes may be active in its effects on sleep.

Legal status

While it is not a controlled substance under federal law in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, some states have considered it individually.

Louisiana State Act 159 Signed into law June 28, 2005, and effective August 8, 2005, Louisiana State Act No 159 found in, Louisiana RS 40:989.1, outlawed the cultivation, possession or sale of 40 named plants defined as hallucinogenic in the state of Louisiana, US. House ...

specifies that it is illegal to possess if it is intended for human consumption, but not if they are intended for ornamental or landscaping use.

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

proposed a bill that would have made this and many other plants classified as hallucinogenic illegal, but when the bill was passed only ''

Salvia divinorum ''Salvia divinorum'' (Latin: "sage of the diviners"; also called ska maría pastora, seer's sage, yerba de la pastora, magic mint or simply salvia) is a plant species with transient psychoactive properties when its leaves are consumed by che ...

'' was banned.''Calea zacatechichi'' Legal Status
Erowid.org. Jun 20 2006. This plant was banned in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in March 2009. Calea ternifolia (syn

Nephrotoxicity

One study suggest that the herb may have some toxic properties towards kidneys (

nephrotoxicity Nephrotoxicity is toxicity in the kidneys. It is a poisonous effect of some substances, both toxic chemicals and medications, on kidney function. There are various forms, and some drugs may affect kidney function in more than one way. Nephrotoxin ...

In popular culture

American composer

David Woodard David Woodard (, ; born April 6, 1964) is an American conductor and writer. During the 1990s he coined the term ''prequiem'', a portmanteau of preemptive and requiem, to describe his Buddhist practice of composing dedicated music to be rendered d ...

, who cultivated ''Calea ternifolia'' on his

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

estate, composed a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

entitled "Calea Zacatechichi", which he recorded with a

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

choir.Kerekes, D., ''Headpress 25: William Burroughs & the Flicker Machine'' (

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

: Headpress, 2003)
p. 34

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q150607 ternifolia Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Entheogens Herbal and fungal hallucinogens Medicinal plants of North America Oneirogens