''Silene undulata'' ( xh, iindlela zimhlophe—"white ways/paths", also known as ''Silene capensis'', and African dream root) is a plant native to the Eastern Cape of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Cultivation

In cultivation, ''S. undulata'' is an easily grown, but moisture hungry herb. It is tolerant of

extreme heat A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

, >, and moderate cold, . A moisture retentive seedbed is essential. The fragrant flowers open at night and close in the day. It is a biennial to short lived perennial and the root can be harvested after the second year.

Uses

''Silene undulata'' is regarded by the

Xhosa people The Xhosa people, or Xhosa-speaking people (; ) are African people who are direct kinsmen of Tswana people, Sotho people and Twa people, yet are narrowly sub grouped by European as Nguni ethnic group whose traditional homeland is primarily t ...

as a sacred plant. Its root is traditionally used to induce vivid (and according to the Xhosa, prophetic)

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 ...

during the initiation process of

shamans Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

, classifying it a naturally occurring

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 ...

similar to the more well-known dream herb '' Calea zacatechichi''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q150591 Entheogens Herbal and fungal hallucinogens Oneirogens undulata

Cultivation

Uses

References

Further reading

External links